Understanding the roles of economy and society in the relative risks of zoonosis emergence from livestock.

The emergence of zoonotic infections that can develop into pathogens of pandemic potential is a major concern for public health. The risks of emergence and transmission relate to multiple factors that range from land use to human-non-human animal contacts. Livestock agriculture plays a potentially significant role in those risks, shaping landscapes and providing hosts that can act as the source or amplifiers of emergent pathogens.

: The Complicated Place of Rapid, Point-of-Care Tests in Veterinary Diagnostic Practice.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global health and development threat, with calls for the optimisation of antimicrobial use (AMU) in the treatment of both humans and animals prevalent across national and international policy. Rapid, low-cost and readily available diagnostics that specifically identify pathogens and their antimicrobial susceptibility profiles have been identified as essential parts of this optimisation process, yet questions over the assumed utility of novel rapid technology as a cornerstone of tackling agricultural AMU still exist. To understand whether this technology may support the optimisation of AMU in the treatment of animal disease, this study qualitatively examines the discourse between veterinarians, laboratory representatives, veterinary researchers and (cattle) farmers within three participatory events concerning diagnostic testing on UK farms, to offer a critical examination of the interaction between veterinary diagnostic practice and agricultural AMU.

Planetary healthy publics after COVID-19.

COVID-19 is a sign of a global malaise. The pandemic is an outcome of what we term a planetary dysbiosis, for which underlining drivers include inequality and the exploitation and extraction of human and non-human labours. The implication is that the usual fixes to outbreaks of infectious diseases (ie, surveillance, pharmaceutical measures, and non-pharmaceutical measures) will be insufficient without a thorough reappraisal of and investment in planetary health.

Influence on the implementation of biosecurity measures in dairy cattle farms: Communication between veterinarians and dairy farmers.

This study was carried out in two regions in Spain (Catalonia and Galicia) through eight focus groups; four for dairy farmers and four for veterinarians. The results showed that dairy farmers and veterinarians attributed responsibility to one another for not following biosecurity practices. The study brings to light contradictions among veterinarians and certain individual veterinary practices that participated in the study, which lead to doubt and confusion on the part of dairy farmers.

Veterinary Diagnostic Practice and the Use of Rapid Tests in Antimicrobial Stewardship on UK Livestock Farms.

In this paper we consider the shifting role, practice and context of veterinary diagnosis in addressing concerns over what is, in the context of the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance, considered unnecessary or excessive antimicrobial medicine use in UK livestock farms. With increasing policy and regulatory interest in diagnostic practices and technologies, coupled with an expanding focus on the development and deployment of new rapid and point-of-care on-farm diagnostic testing, this paper investigates current diagnostic practices amongst veterinarians working on dairy, pig and poultry farms in Great Britain (England, Wales, and Scotland) and, more specifically, veterinarians' use and perceptions of new and emerging rapid and point-of-care diagnostic tests. Drawing on a series of 30 semi-structured interviews with farm animal veterinary professionals across the three sectors, this paper examines the manner in which such tests are both used and anticipated in clinical farm animal veterinary practice and the possible impact rapid test technologies might have on broader farm animal health management and disease control.