Antimicrobial stewardship hindered by inadequate biosecurity and biosafety practices, and inappropriate antibiotics usage in poultry farms of Nepal-A pilot study.

Nepal's poultry industry has experienced remarkable growth in the last decade, but farm biosafety and biosecurity measures are often overlooked by farmers. As a result, farms often suffer from sporadic and regular outbreaks of many diseases, impacting production and creating public health challenges. Poor management practices, including overuse of antibiotics for prophylaxis and therapeutics, can enhance the spread of poultry diseases by propagating antimicrobial resistance (AMR) that is threatening poultry and human health.

Phylogenomic analysis supports transmission between humans and elephants.

Introduction: Tuberculosis is an infectious disease caused by a group of acid-fast bacilli known as complex (MTC), which has a major impact on humans. Transmission of MTC across the human-animal interface has been demonstrated by several studies. However, the reverse zoonotic transmission from humans to animals (zooanthroponosis) has often been neglected.

Phylogenetic characterization of canine distemper virus from stray dogs in Kathmandu Valley.

Canine distemper is a highly contagious, often fatal disease caused by canine distemper virus (CDV) in domestic dogs and wild carnivores. The virus has caused mass epidemics in both wild and captive carnivores of high conservation value such as tigers, lions and leopards. Hence, understanding and managing CDV outbreaks is particularly important in Nepal, which is home to many species of threatened wild carnivores including tigers, leopards, snow leopards, dholes and wolves, and also contains a large population of stray dogs.

Rapid genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in a dense urban community of Kathmandu Valley using sewage samples.

Understanding disease burden and transmission dynamics in resource-limited, low-income countries like Nepal are often challenging due to inadequate surveillance systems. These issues are exacerbated by limited access to diagnostic and research facilities throughout the country. Nepal has one of the highest COVID-19 case rates (915 cases per 100,000 people) in South Asia, with densely-populated Kathmandu experiencing the highest number of cases.

Identification and characterization of probiotics isolated from indigenous chicken (Gallus domesticus) of Nepal.

Background: Excessive and irrational use of antibiotics as growth promoters in poultry has been one of key factors contributing to increased emergence of antibiotics resistant bacteria. Several alternatives for antibiotic growth promoters are being sought, and the search for effective probiotics to be used as feed additives is amongst the promising ones. Our study aimed to isolate and test potential probiotics bacteria from cloacal swabs of various indigenous chicken (Gallus domesticus) breeds from rural outskirts of the Kathmandu valley (Nepal).

Differentially Represented Proteins in Response to Infection with Identified by Quantitative Serum Proteomics in Asian Elephants.

Tuberculosis is a major global concern. Tuberculosis in wildlife is a risk for zoonotic transmission and becoming one of the challenges for conservation globally. In elephants, the number of cases is likely rising.

Molecular and morphological identification of frog species collected at Rara Lake in Rara National Park, Nepal.

This study seeks to clarify the taxonomic identity of three adult frogs and two tadpoles from Rara Lake situated in Rara National Park, Mugu district, Western Nepal, using both phenotypic and mitochondrial sequence data (16S rRNA gene). Based on the molecular data, we determined our specimens belonged to two species; Paa cf. ercepeae (Dubois, 1974) and Paa rarica (Dubois, Matsui, and Ohler, 2001), and this assignment is also supported by morphology.

Antibiotic resistance genes of public health importance in livestock and humans in an informal urban community in Nepal.

Efforts to mitigate the increasing emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) will benefit from a One Health perspective, as over half of animal antimicrobials are also considered medically important in humans, and AMR can be maintained in the environment. This is especially pertinent to low- and middle-income countries and in community settings, where an estimated 80% of all antibiotics are used. This study features AMR genes found among humans, animals, and water at an urban informal settlement in Nepal with intensifying livestock production.

Understanding Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex in elephants through a One Health approach: a systematic review.

Background: Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTC) that causes the chronic infectious disease- tuberculosis (TB), often presents with a complicated epidemiological pattern where the transmission chain may include humans, domestic animals and wildlife, including elephants. TB has been reported globally in both captive and wild elephants. The One Health approach might be the most effective way of understanding the shared MTC infection dynamics in captive and wild animals like Asian elephants.

The COVID-19 pandemic is intricately linked to biodiversity loss and ecosystem health.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, caused by zoonotic SARS-CoV-2, has important links to biodiversity loss and ecosystem health. These links range from anthropogenic activities driving zoonotic disease emergence and extend to the pandemic affecting biodiversity conservation, environmental policy, ecosystem services, and multiple conservation facets. Crucially, such effects can exacerbate the initial drivers, resulting in feedback loops that are likely to promote future zoonotic disease outbreaks.

Climate change and health vulnerability in Nepal: A systematic review of the literature since 2010.

The Nepali population is among those most vulnerable to the health impacts of climate change. We conducted a systematic literature review to document the health effects of climate change in Nepal and identify knowledge gaps by examining vulnerability categories related to health. Three databases were searched for journal articles that addressed health and vulnerability related to climate change in Nepal from 2010 onwards.

Health Reporting Characteristics among Journalists in Nepal Utilizing a One Health Framework.

Journalists play a crucial role in the dissemination of health-related information. In developing countries, such as Nepal, the media are integral in shaping the national agenda and informing the public of important health issues. With an increasing need for a collaborative effort to attain optimal health for people, animals, and the environment, the One Health approach was used to characterize health reporting in Nepal.

Vulnerabilities for Exposure to Emerging Infectious Disease at Urban Settlements in Nepal.

In Nepal, rapid urbanization and rural-to-urban migration especially due to internal civil conflict have catalyzed the development of temporary settlements, often along rivers on undeveloped land. This study conducted surveillance for viruses in small mammals and assessed potential risks for virus transmission to people in urban settlements along rivers in Kathmandu, Nepal. We collected samples from 411 small mammals (100 rodents and 311 shrews) at four riverside settlement sites and detected six viruses from four virus families including Thottapalayam virus; a strain of murine coronavirus; two new paramyxoviruses; and two new rhabdoviruses.

Gut microbiota and their putative metabolic functions in fragmented Bengal tiger population of Nepal.

Bengal tigers (Panthera tigris tigris) serve a pivotal role as an apex predator in forest ecosystems. To increase our knowledge on factors impacting the viability and health of this endangered species, we studied the gut microbiota in 32 individual Bengal tigers from three geographically separated areas (Chitwan National Park (CNP), Bardia National Park (BNP) and Suklaphanta Wildlife Reserve (SWR)) in Nepal, using noninvasive genetic sampling methods. Gut microbiota influence the immune system, impact various physiological functions, and modulates metabolic reactions, that ultimately impact the host health, behavior and development.

Correction: Surveillance of Influenza A Virus and Its Subtypes in Migratory Wild Birds of Nepal.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Association Between Earthquake Exposures and Mental Health Outcomes in Phulpingdanda Village After the 2015 Nepal Earthquakes.

In 2015, two strong earthquakes, as well as continuous, high magnitude aftershocks, struck Nepal. Phulpingdanda village was greatly impacted due to its lack of infrastructure and environmental remoteness. Adults from sampled households were surveyed 1-year later to examine the association between earthquake exposures and indicators of depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and resilience.

The Expectations and Challenges of Wildlife Disease Research in the Era of Genomics: Forecasting with a Horizon Scan-like Exercise.

The outbreak and transmission of disease-causing pathogens are contributing to the unprecedented rate of biodiversity decline. Recent advances in genomics have coalesced into powerful tools to monitor, detect, and reconstruct the role of pathogens impacting wildlife populations. Wildlife researchers are thus uniquely positioned to merge ecological and evolutionary studies with genomic technologies to exploit unprecedented "Big Data" tools in disease research; however, many researchers lack the training and expertise required to use these computationally intensive methodologies.

Earthquake exposures and mental health outcomes in children and adolescents from Phulpingdanda village, Nepal: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Mental health issues can reach epidemic proportions in developed countries after natural disasters, but research is needed to better understand the impact on children and adolescents in developing nations.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed to examine the relationship between earthquake exposures and depression, PTSD, and resilience among children and adolescents in Phulpingdanda village in Nepal, 1 year after the 2015 earthquakes, using the Depression Self-Rating Scale for Children, Child PTSD Symptom Scale, and the Child and Youth Resilience Measure, respectively. To quantify exposure, a basic demographic and household questionnaire, including an earthquake exposure assessment tool for children and adolescents, was created.