Rabies in a postpandemic world: resilient reservoirs, redoubtable riposte, recurrent roadblocks, and resolute recidivism.

Rabies is an ancient disease. Two centuries since Pasteur, fundamental progress occurred in virology, vaccinology, and diagnostics-and an understanding of pathobiology and epizootiology of rabies in testament to One Health-before common terminological coinage. Prevention, control, selective elimination, and even the unthinkable-occasional treatment-of this zoonosis dawned by the twenty-first century. However, in contrast to smallpox and rinderpest, eradication is a wishful misnomer applied to rabies, particularly post-COVID-19 pandemic. Reasons are minion. Polyhostality encompasses bats and mesocarnivores, but other mammals represent a diverse spectrum of potential hosts. While rabies virus is the classical member of the genus, other species of lyssaviruses also cause the disease. Some reservoirs remain cryptic. Although global, this viral encephalitis is untreatable and often ignored. As with other neglected diseases, laboratory-based surveillance falls short of the notifiable ideal, especially in lower- and middle-income countries. Calculation of actual burden defaults to a flux within broad health economic models. Competing priorities, lack of defined, long-term international donors, and shrinking local champions challenge human prophylaxis and mass dog vaccination toward targets of 2030 for even canine rabies impacts. For prevention, all licensed vaccines are delivered to the individual, whether parenteral or oral-essentially 'one and done'. Exploiting mammalian social behaviors, future 'spreadable vaccines' might increase the proportion of immunized hosts per unit effort. However, the release of replication-competent, genetically modified organisms selectively engineered to spread intentionally throughout a population raises significant biological, ethical, and regulatory issues in need of broader, transdisciplinary discourse. How this rather curious idea will evolve toward actual unconventional prevention, control, or elimination in the near term remains debatable. In the interim, more precise terminology and realistic expectations serve as the norm for diverse, collective constituents to maintain progress in the field.

Infectious disease Roundup 2022

This paper describes the epidemiology, prevalence, transmission, prevention and control of some infectious diseases in companion animals, livestock, wild animals and humans in Ontario, Canada, in 2022, including SARS-CoV-2;Echinococcus multilocularis, Leishmania spp. and SARS-CoV-2;antimicrobial stewardship resources;2 cases of rabid dogs imported from Iran (July 2021 and January 2022);prevalence of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Enterobacteriacea, Dirofilaria immitis, Brucella canis, canine parainfluenza and adeno- and herpes viruses in dogs recently imported from Asia;Paragonimus kellicotti lung flukes and Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus in dogs;African swine fever in pet pigs, backyard pigs and wild pigs and blastomycosis in dogs and humans.

Prospect of Vaccinia virus vector vaccine for wildlife

Against a pandemic of emerged infectious disease, COVID-19, new generation vaccines based on nucleic acids or recombinant viruses, which had not been used as vaccines in humans, have been inoculated and shown to be successful. They are, however, heat-labile and need a cold-chain including deep-freezers for storage and transportation. Vaccinia virus (VAC) vector vaccine (VACV) is a pioneer of new generation of vaccines constructed by using molecular biological technology. VACV, which has contributed to eradication of smallpox, has excellent characteristics of vaccinia virus such as a high heat-stability and long-lasting immunological effects. It is possible to distinguish the immunological responses of vaccination from those of natural infections. We started our developmental researches 35 years ago, using attenuated VAC strains established in Japan. In this article, we first describe the early researches of VACVs;development of two VACVs for Bovine leukemia virus and Rinderpest morbillivirus antigens and their protective immunity in large mammals, sheep and cows. Second, application of VACV is described;Rabies-VACV, which has already been licensed, used in the field in Europe and USA, and resulted in a prominent decrease of rabies. Then, current status of VACV research is described;non-replicating VACVs in mammalian cells have been developed as new-generation and ultimately-safe vaccines. We discuss the possibility of future application of VACV for wildlife.

Infectious disease management in animal shelters

This second edition contains 24 new and updated chapters on aetiology, epidemiology, prevalence, pathogenesis, clinical signs, treatment, prevention and control of infectious diseases in cats, dogs and exotic small companion mammals in animal shelters. These include an introduction to infectious disease management in animal shelters, wellness, data surveillance, diagnostic testing, necropsy techniques, outbreak management, pharmacology, sanitation, canine and feline vaccinations and immunology, canine infectious respiratory disease, canine distemper virus, canine influenza, feline infectious respiratory disease, canine parvovirus and other canine enteropathogens, feline panleukopenia, feline coronavirus and feline infectious peritonitis, internal parasites, heartworm disease, external parasites, dermatophytoses, zoonoses, rabies, feline leukaemia and feline immunodeficiency viruses and conditions in exotic companion mammals (ferrets, rabbits, guineapigs and rodents). It is intended for shelter veterinarians, managers and workers.

Bacterial, fungal and viral zoonoses of pets

Today, pets are the source of numerous infectious diseases that can be transmitted to humans, as a result of their increasingly frequent contact. The most important viruses with zoonotic potential include rabies and influenza viruses as well as rotaviruses and noroviruses. However, the importance of individual viruses varies depending on the climate and infectious disease control systems in certain countries. Dogs, cats, and other increasingly popular types of pets can transmit bacterial zoonotic agents to humans in various ways. In addition to known pathogens such as the bacteria causing leptospirosis, salmonellosis, campylobacteriosis, or brucellosis, the bacteria Pasteurella multocida and Bartonella henselae transmitted by bites or scratches are also significant in human pathology. There has been a significant increase in the prevalence of methicillin-resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus in isolates originating from pets and the transmission of these strains between humans and animals requires special attention. Furthermore, fungi causing diseases such as sporotrichosis or dermatophytosis are linked to long-term and persistent infections in humans. The epidemiological situation caused by SARS-CoV-2, and the assumption of an interspecies jump of this virus from animals to humans, including its documented presence in domestic cats, dogs, tigers, and martens, have raised the question of the possibility of virus transmission from pets to humans. However, the current pandemic is caused exclusively by SARS-CoV-2 transmission in the human population, and these animals are not a source of infection for humans. A significant number of zoonoses originating from pets is a threat to public health, thus requiring the "One Health" approach through close cooperation between human and veterinary medicine to develop and implement effective health measures for both humans and animals. As part of responsible ownership, pet owners must be informed by veterinarians about measures to prevent infectious diseases and certain risks that are related to keeping certain species of animals.

Rabies in the Tropics.

Purpose of Review: Rabies is an ancient yet still neglected tropical disease (NTD). This review focuses upon highlights of recent research and peer-reviewed communications on the underestimated tropical burden of disease and its management due to the complicated dynamics of virulent viral species, diverse mammalian reservoirs, and tens of millions of exposed humans and animals - and how laboratory-based surveillance at each level informs upon pathogen spread and risks of transmission, for targeted prevention and control. Recent Findings: While both human and rabies animal cases in enzootic areas over the past 5 years were reported to PAHO/WHO and OIE by member countries, still there is a huge gap between these "official" data and the need for enhanced surveillance efforts to meet global program goals. Summary: A review of the complex aspects of rabies perpetuation in human, domestic animal, and wildlife communities, coupled with a high fatality rate despite the existence of efficacious biologics (but no therapeutics), warrants the need for a One Health approach toward detection via improved laboratory-based surveillance, with focal management at the viral source. More effective methods to prevent the spread of rabies from enzootic to free zones are needed.

EFSA and ECDC publishes EU One Health 2020 zoonoses report

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) have published the EU One Health 2020 Zoonoses Report. Campylobacteriosis was the most reported zoonosis in the EU in 2020, with 120,946 cases compared to more than 220,000 the previous year. This was followed by salmonellosis, which affected 52,702 people, compared to 88,000 in 2019. The number of reported foodborne outbreaks fell by 47%, with the report acknowledging the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the drop in reported zoonotic diseases in humans. The next most commonly reported diseases were yersiniosis, with 5,668 cases, and infections caused by Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli, with 4,446 cases. Listeriosis was the fifth most reported zoonosis, mainly affecting people over the age of 64. Listeriosis and West Nile virus (WNV) infections were the diseases with the highest case fatality and hospitalisation rates, with most locally acquired human infections of WNV reported in Greece, Spain and Italy. The report also monitors foodborne outbreaks in the EU, events during which at least two people contract the same illness from the same contaminated food. A total of 3,086 foodborne outbreaks were reported in 2020, with Salmonella remaining the most frequently detected agent, causing around 23% of outbreaks. The most common sources of salmonellosis outbreaks were eggs, egg products and pig meat. The report also includes data on Mycobacterium bovis, Mycobacterium caprae, Brucella, Trichinella, Echinococcus, Toxoplasma gondii, rabies, Q fever and tularaemia.