Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on food production and animal health.

BACKGROUND: Severe acute respiratory coronavirus syndrome 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the etiological agent of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). SARS-CoV-2 was first detected in Wuhan, China and spread to other countries and continents causing a variety of respiratory and non-respiratory symptoms which led to death in severe cases. SCOPE AND APPROACH: In this review, we discuss and analyze the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on animal production systems and food production of meat, dairy, eggs, and processed food, in addition to assessing the impact of the pandemic on animal healthcare systems, animal healthcare quality, animal welfare, food chain sustainability, and the global economy. We also provide effective recommendations to animal producers, veterinary healthcare professionals, workers in animal products industries, and governments to alleviate the effects of the pandemic on livestock farming and production systems. KEY FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS: Port restrictions, border restrictions, curfews, and social distancing limitations led to reduced quality, productivity, and competitiveness of key productive sectors. The restrictions have hit the livestock sector hard by disrupting the animal feed supply chain, reducing animal farming services, limiting animal health services including delays in diagnosis and treatment of diseases, limiting access to markets and consumers, and reducing labor-force participation. The inhumane culling of animals jeopardized animal welfare. Egg smashing, milk dumping, and other animal product disruptions negatively impacted food production, consumption, and access to food originating from animals. In summary, COVID-19 triggered lockdowns and limitations on local and international trade have taken their toll on food production, animal production, and animal health and welfare. COVID-19 reverberations could exacerbate food insecurity, hunger, and global poverty. The effects could be massive on the most vulnerable populations and the poorest nations.

How artificial intelligence may help the Covid-19 pandemic: Pitfalls and lessons for the future.

The clinical severity, rapid transmission and human losses due to coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) have led the World Health Organization to declare it a pandemic. Traditional epidemiological tools are being significantly complemented by recent innovations especially using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. AI-based model systems could improve pattern recognition of disease spread in populations and predictions of outbreaks in different geographical locations. A variable and a minimal amount of data are available for the signs and symptoms of Covid-19, allowing a composite of maximum likelihood algorithms to be employed to enhance the accuracy of disease diagnosis and to identify potential drugs. AI-based forecasting and predictions are expected to complement traditional approaches by helping public health officials to select better response and preparedness measures against Covid-19 cases. AI-based approaches have helped address the key issues but a significant impact on the global healthcare industry is yet to be achieved. The capability of AI to address the challenges may make it a key player in the operation of healthcare systems in future. Here, we present an overview of the prospective applications of the AI model systems in healthcare settings during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on food production and animal health

Background The new coronavirus, named the severe acute respiratory coronavirus syndrome 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the etiological agent of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). COVID-19 originated in China and spread to other countries and continents causing a variety of respiratory and non-respiratory symptoms that led to death in severe cases. Scope and approach In this review, we discuss and analyze the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on animal production systems and food products including meat, dairy, eggs, and processed food, in addition to assessing the pandemic's impact on animal health care systems, animal health care quality, animal welfare, food chain sustainability, and the global economy. We also provide effective recommendations to animal producers, veterinary healthcare professionals, workers in animal products industries, and governments to alleviate the effects of the pandemic on livestock farming and production systems. Key findings and conclusions Port restrictions, border restrictions, curfews, and social distancing limitations led to reduced quality, productivity, and competitiveness of key productive sectors. The restrictions have hit the livestock sector hard by disrupting the animal feed supply chain, reducing animal farming services, limiting animal health services including delays in diagnosis and treatment of diseases, limiting access to markets and consumers, and reducing labor-force participation. The inhumane culling of animals jeopardized animal welfare. Egg smashing, milk dumping, and other animal product disruptions negatively impacted food production, consumption, and access to food originating from animals. In summary, COVID-triggered lockdowns and limitations on local and international trade have taken their toll on food production, animal production, and animal health and welfare. COVID-19 reverberations could exacerbate food insecurity, hunger, and global poverty. The effects could be massive on the most vulnerable populations and the poorest nations.

SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein Extrapolation for COVID Diagnosis and Vaccine Development.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) led to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic affecting nearly 71.2 million humans in more than 191 countries, with more than 1.6 million mortalities as of 12 December, 2020. The spike glycoprotein (S-protein), anchored onto the virus envelope, is the trimer of S-protein comprised of S1 and S2 domains which interacts with host cell receptors and facilitates virus-cell membrane fusion. The S1 domain comprises of a receptor binding domain (RBD) possessing an N-terminal domain and two subdomains (SD1 and SD2). Certain regions of S-protein of SARS-CoV-2 such as S2 domain and fragment of the RBD remain conserved despite the high selection pressure. These conserved regions of the S-protein are extrapolated as the potential target for developing molecular diagnostic techniques. Further, the S-protein acts as an antigenic target for different serological assay platforms for the diagnosis of COVID-19. Virus-specific IgM and IgG antibodies can be used to detect viral proteins in ELISA and lateral flow immunoassays. The S-protein of SARS-CoV-2 has very high sequence similarity to SARS-CoV-1, and the monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against SARS-CoV-1 cross-react with S-protein of SARS-CoV-2 and neutralize its activity. Furthermore, in vitro studies have demonstrated that polyclonal antibodies targeted against the RBD of S-protein of SARS-CoV-1 can neutralize SARS-CoV-2 thus inhibiting its infectivity in permissive cell lines. Research on coronaviral S-proteins paves the way for the development of vaccines that may prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection and alleviate the current global coronavirus pandemic. However, specific neutralizing mAbs against SARS-CoV-2 are in clinical development. Therefore, neutralizing antibodies targeting SARS-CoV-2 S-protein are promising specific antiviral therapeutics for pre-and post-exposure prophylaxis and treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection. We hereby review the approaches taken by researchers across the world to use spike gene and S-glycoprotein for the development of effective diagnostics, vaccines and therapeutics against SARA-CoV-2 infection the COVID-19 pandemic.

Residual antimicrobial agents in food originating from animals.

BACKGROUND: The agricultural food products industry in Bangladesh depends on utilizing antimicrobials indiscriminately as growth promoters and for controlling infectious diseases. Thus, there is always a risk of antimicrobial agent accumulation in food sources that originate from agricultural production. METHODS: In the present study, we collected data from published articles between January, 2013 and December, 2019 on antimicrobial residues in human food sources such as meat, milk, eggs, and fishes. RESULTS: Liver contained the highest percentage of antimicrobial residues (74%; 95% CI: 59.66-85.37) against the in vitro enteric pathogen Escherichia coli in layer chickens. Similar results were demonstrated in liver (68%; 95% CI: 53.30-80.48) and kidney (66%, 95% CI: 51.23-78.79) of layer chickens against Bacillus cereus and Bacillus subtilis. Amongst all antibiotics, the highest concentrations of ciprofloxacin were detected in kidney (48.57%; 95% CI: 31.38-66.01), followed by liver (47.56; 95% CI: 40.88-54.30) of broiler chickens. Ciprofloxacin was also present in liver (46.15%; 95% CI: 33.70-58.96) of layer chickens. The percentage of ciprofloxacin in thigh and breast meat in broiler bird were 41.54% (95% CI: 34.54-48.79) and 37.95% (95% CI: 31.11-45.15) respectively. Enrofloxacin was the second most dominant antimicrobial agent and was present in the liver of both types of poultry (Broiler and Layer chickens: 41.54%; 95% CI: 29.44-54.4 and 437.33%; 95% CI: 30.99-44.01). The prevalence rates of enrofloxacin in thigh and breast meat of broiler chickens were 24.10% (95% CI: 18.28-30.73) and 20.51% (95% CI: 15.08-26.87), respectively. Tetracycline, a commonly used antibiotic in livestock, was present in the liver (49.23%; 95% CI: 36.60-61.93) of layer chickens. In case of aquaculture food products, the highest amount of amoxicillin (683.2 mg/kg) was detected in Tilapia fish (Oreochromis niloticus), followed by 584.4 mg/kg in climbing perch (Anabas testudineus) and 555.6 mg/kg in Rui fish (Labeo rohita). Among the five types of fishes, Rui fish (0.000515 mg/kg) contained the highest concentrations of chloramphenicol antibiotic residues. CONCLUSIONS: The presence of antimicrobial residues in meat, milk, egg, and fish is a serious public health threat due to the potential induction of antimicrobial resistance. It can negatively impact the food supply chain, especially with the current strain that it is already facing with the current COVID-19 pandemic. The findings of the present study highlight the ongoing risk of residual antimicrobial agents in food of animal origin in Bangladesh and countries with similar practices. This can draw the attention of public health officials to propose plans to mitigate or stop this practice.

Zoonotic Diseases: Etiology, Impact, and Control.

Most humans are in contact with animals in a way or another. A zoonotic disease is a disease or infection that can be transmitted naturally from vertebrate animals to humans or from humans to vertebrate animals. More than 60% of human pathogens are zoonotic in origin. This includes a wide variety of bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoa, parasites, and other pathogens. Factors such as climate change, urbanization, animal migration and trade, travel and tourism, vector biology, anthropogenic factors, and natural factors have greatly influenced the emergence, re-emergence, distribution, and patterns of zoonoses. As time goes on, there are more emerging and re-emerging zoonotic diseases. In this review, we reviewed the etiology of major zoonotic diseases, their impact on human health, and control measures for better management. We also highlighted COVID-19, a newly emerging zoonotic disease of likely bat origin that has affected millions of humans along with devastating global consequences. The implementation of One Health measures is highly recommended for the effective prevention and control of possible zoonosis.

Role of Environmental Temperature on the Attack rate and Case fatality rate of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic.

SARS-CoV-2 is a zoonotic Betacoronavirus causing the devastating COVID-19 pandemic. More than twelve million COVID-19 cases and 500 thousand fatalities have been reported in 216 countries. Although SARS-CoV-2 originated in China, comparatively fewer people have been affected in other Asian countries than in Europe and the USA. This study examined the hypothesis that lower temperature may increase the spread of SARS-CoV-2 by comparing attack rate and case fatality rate (until 21 March 2020) to mean temperature in January-February 2020. The attack rate was highest in Luxembourg followed by Italy and Switzerland. There was a significant (p = 0.02) correlation between decreased attack rate and increased environmental temperature. The case fatality rate was highest in Italy followed by Iran and Spain. There was no significant correlation between the case fatality rate and temperature. This study indicates that lower temperature may increase SARS-CoV-2 transmission (measured as an increased attack rate), but there is no evidence that temperature affects the severity of the disease (measured as case fatality rate). However, there are clearly other factors that affect the transmission of SARS-CoV-2, and many of these may be sensitive to interventions, e.g. through increased public awareness and public health response.

Coronavirus Disease Pandemic (COVID-19): Challenges and a Global Perspective.

The technology-driven world of the 21st century is currently confronted with a major threat to humankind, represented by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome, coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). As of now, COVID-19 has affected more than 6 million confirmed cases and took 0.39 million human lives. SARS-CoV-2 spreads much faster than its two ancestors, SARS-CoV and Middle East respiratory syndrome-CoV (MERS-CoV), but has low fatality rates. Our analyses speculate that the efficient replication and transmission of SARS-CoV-2 might be due to the high-density basic amino acid residues, preferably positioned in close proximity at both the furin-like cleavage sites (S1/S2 and S2') within the spike protein. Given the high genomic similarities of SARS-CoV-2 to bat SARS-like CoVs, it is likely that bats serve as a reservoir host for its progenitor. Women and children are less susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection, while the elderly and people with comorbidities are more prone to serious clinical outcomes, which may be associated with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and cytokine storm. The cohesive approach amongst researchers across the globe has delivered high-end viral diagnostics. However, home-based point-of-care diagnostics are still under development, which may prove transformative in current COVID-19 pandemic containment. Similarly, vaccines and therapeutics against COVID-19 are currently in the pipeline for clinical trials. In this review, we discuss the noteworthy advancements, focusing on the etiological viral agent, comparative genomic analysis, population susceptibility, disease epidemiology and diagnosis, animal reservoirs, laboratory animal models, disease transmission, therapeutics, vaccine challenges, and disease mitigation measures.

Environmental impact of the COVID-19 pandemic - a lesson for the future.

The environment is an integral component of human and animal health. COVID-19 is a global health challenge in the twenty-first century. The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 in Wuhan, China in December 2019, and its spread to regional countries and nowadays affecting more than 210 countries worldwide represents the first pandemic in history to be caused by a coronavirus. The COVID-19 pandemic has huge impacts on most aspects of human activities, as well as on the economy and health care systems. Lock-downs, quarantines and border closures in the wake of the pandemic have led to reductions in air pollution through decreased travel and production. These positive environmental effects are likely mostly temporary, but may serve as an example that changes in our way of life can have prompt positive effects for the environment and demonstrate the usefulness of travel-reducing measures such as teleconferencing. Thus, acknowledging that COVID-19 is first and foremost a global disaster, the pandemic may inspire to future behavioral changes with positive environmental effects.

Systematic Review of Important Viral Diseases in Africa in Light of the 'One Health' Concept.

Emerging and re-emerging viral diseases are of great public health concern. The recent emergence of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) related coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) in December 2019 in China, which causes COVID-19 disease in humans, and its current spread to several countries, leading to the first pandemic in history to be caused by a coronavirus, highlights the significance of zoonotic viral diseases. Rift Valley fever, rabies, West Nile, chikungunya, dengue, yellow fever, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, Ebola, and influenza viruses among many other viruses have been reported from different African countries. The paucity of information, lack of knowledge, limited resources, and climate change, coupled with cultural traditions make the African continent a hotspot for vector-borne and zoonotic viral diseases, which may spread globally. Currently, there is no information available on the status of virus diseases in Africa. This systematic review highlights the available information about viral diseases, including zoonotic and vector-borne diseases, reported in Africa. The findings will help us understand the trend of emerging and re-emerging virus diseases within the African continent. The findings recommend active surveillance of viral diseases and strict implementation of One Health measures in Africa to improve human public health and reduce the possibility of potential pandemics due to zoonotic viruses.

From SARS to COVID-19: A previously unknown SARS- related coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) of pandemic potential infecting humans - Call for a One Health approach.

Human coronaviruses continue to pose a threat to human health. The emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in December 2019 which causes coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19), an acute respiratory disease marked the third introduction of a highly pathogenic coronavirus into the human population in the twenty-first century. This recent emergence of a previously unknown coronavirus in China leads to huge impacts on humans globally. Covid-19 is a challenge to global public health. Here, we discuss the COVID-19 outbreak in a one health context, highlighting the need for the implementation of one health measures and practices to improve human health and reduce the emergence of pandemic viruses.