Transboundary and Emerging Zoonotic Diseases

A special issue of Pathogens (ISSN 2076-0817). This special issue belongs to the section "Viral Pathogens".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2025 | Viewed by 661

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
LifeStock International, Athens, GA, USA
Interests: transboundary animal diseases; animal health development; livestock trade

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Guest Editor
Foreign Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (FADDL), Plum Island Animal Disease Center (PIADC), Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Greenport, NY 11944, USA
Interests: TADs (transboundary animal diseases); African swine fever; emerging zoonoses
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Transboundary animal diseases and emerging zoonoses pose continuing threats to global food security, public health, and local and national economies. Understanding disease patterns and changes in agents and developing improved surveillance and control methodologies can help in ensuring the health of animals and humans. African swine fever, peste des petits ruminants, foot-and-mouth disease, and lumpy skin disease, as well as emerging zoonotic diseases such as Ebola, Marburg, Rift Valley fever, and Crimean–Congo hemorrhagic fever, are all creating problems in many new areas. Research designed to achieve a better understanding of the evolution and epidemiology of these agents is urgently needed.

Studying these diseases in the areas of the world where they occur naturally presents many advantages. The Global Partnership for Animal and Zoonotic Disease Surveillance (GPAZDS) is an effort through the US Department of Agriculture to collaborate with laboratories and institutions in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, allowing new data to be collected.

This Special Issue of Pathogens will focus on groundbreaking studies on these important pathogens, garnered from the GPAZDS project, as well as other investigations. This Special Issue will inform the larger scientific community about new findings and help to create better control mechanisms to reduce the devastation and further spread of these diseases.

Dr. Corrie Brown
Dr. Bonto Faburay
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • TADs (transboundary animal diseases)
  • emerging zoonoses
  • filoviruses
  • African swine fever
  • peste des petits ruminants
  • foot-and-mouth disease

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

11 pages, 603 KB  
Article
Surveillance and Management Strategies for African Swine Fever (ASF) in Central Luzon, Philippines
by Virginia M. Venturina, Romeo S. Gundran, Ronalie B. Rafael, Roderick T. Salvador, Marvin Bryan S. Salinas, Errol Jay Y. Balagan, Phebe M. Valdez, Alvin P. Soriano, Noraine P. Medina, Gemerlyn G. Garcia, Ma-Jian R. Dela Cruz, Lianne Kathleen P. Salazar, Lohreihlieh P. Parayao, Dante M. Fabros, Jr., Corrie C. Brown and Bonto Faburay
Pathogens 2025, 14(10), 995; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens14100995 - 2 Oct 2025
Abstract
African swine fever (ASF) remains a major threat to swine production in Central Luzon, Philippines. This study assessed ASF detection and farm-level risk factors in Central Luzon using a risk-based surveillance framework. Pooled blood samples from five pigs per farm were collected in [...] Read more.
African swine fever (ASF) remains a major threat to swine production in Central Luzon, Philippines. This study assessed ASF detection and farm-level risk factors in Central Luzon using a risk-based surveillance framework. Pooled blood samples from five pigs per farm were collected in 277 farms across seven provinces and tested by real-time PCR. The analysis yielded an apparent farm-level prevalence of 26.7% (95% CI: 21.6–32.3), defined by one pooled 5-pig blood sample per farm. However, these values reflect risk-based surveillance outcomes rather than population-representative prevalence. Detection varied by province, with high rates in Bataan (80.5%) and Nueva Ecija (55.0%), moderate detection in Zambales (24.3%), lower detection in Pampanga (5.0%) and Tarlac (20.0%), and no positives in Aurora or Bulacan. Survey data were available for 201 farms. Firth-penalized logistic regression identified the absence of perimeter fencing as the only statistically significant predictor of ASFV detection. Veterinary oversight and consultancy showed protective but non-significant trends. These results highlight structural and professional biosecurity gaps, emphasizing the need for expanded veterinary outreach, fencing support, and training to mitigate ASF risk in smallholder-dominated production systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Transboundary and Emerging Zoonotic Diseases)
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