Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a neglected vector-borne disease which is endemic in many countries across Africa and has seen recent geographical expansions into the Arabian Peninsula. RVF can cause severe infections in both animals and humans. RVF infections in livestock can lead to mass fatalities. In humans, the symptoms are nonspecific and can often lead to misdiagnosis. However, a small proportion progresses to haemorrhagic infection with a significantly higher mortality rate. The culmination of this can cause severe socioeconomic impacts. This review aims to identify the main socioeconomic impacts caused by RVF outbreaks as well as existing knowledge gaps. Ninety-three academic and grey papers were selected, covering 19 countries and 10 methodological approaches. A variety of socioeconomic impacts were found across all levels of society: Livestock trade disruptions consequently impacted local food security, local and national economies. Most livestock farmers in endemic countries are subsistence farmers and so rely on their livestock for sustenance and income. RVF outbreaks resulted in a variety of socioeconomic impacts, e.g., the inability to pay for school fees. Main barriers to vaccine uptake in communities were lack of access, funds, interest along with other social aspects. The occupational risks for women (and pregnant women) are largely unknown. To our knowledge, this is the first review on RVF to highlight the clear knowledge gap surrounding the potential gender differences on risks of RVF exposure, as well as differences on occupational health risk in pastoral communities. Further work is required to fill the gaps identified in this review and inform control policies.

Influenza A/H9 viruses circulate worldwide in wild and domestic avian species, continuing to evolve and posing a zoonotic risk. A substantial increase in human infections with A/H9N2 subtype avian influenza viruses (AIVs) and the emergence of novel reassortants carrying A/H9N2-origin internal genes has occurred in recent years. Different names have been used to describe the circulating and emerging A/H9 lineages. To address this issue, an international group of experts from animal and public health laboratories, endorsed by the WOAH/FAO Network of Expertise on Animal Influenza, has created a practical lineage classification and nomenclature system based on the analysis of 10,638 hemagglutinin sequences from A/H9 AIVs sampled worldwide. This system incorporates phylogenetic relationships and epidemiologic characteristics designed to trace emerging and circulating lineages and clades. To aid in lineage and clade assignment, an online tool has been created. This proposed classification enables rapid comprehension of the global spread and evolution of A/H9 AIVs.

High pathogenicity avian influenza viruses (HPAIVs) cause high morbidity and mortality in poultry species. HPAIV prevalence means high numbers of infected wild birds could lead to spill over events for farmed poultry. How these pathogens survive in the environment is important for disease maintenance and potential dissemination. We evaluated the temperature-associated survival kinetics for five clade 2.3.4.4 H5Nx HPAIVs (UK field strains between 2014 and 2021) incubated at up to three temperatures for up to ten weeks. The selected temperatures represented northern European winter (4 °C) and summer (20 °C); and a southern European summer temperature (30 °C). For each clade 2.3.4.4 HPAIV, the time in days to reduce the viral infectivity by 90% at temperature T was established (DT), showing that a lower incubation temperature prolonged virus survival (stability), where DT ranged from days to weeks. The fastest loss of viral infectivity was observed at 30 °C. Extrapolation of the graphical DT plots to the x-axis intercept provided the corresponding time to extinction for viral decay. Statistical tests of the difference between the DT values and extinction times of each clade 2.3.4.4 strain at each temperature indicated that the majority displayed different survival kinetics from the other strains at 4 °C and 20 °C.

Reverse zoonotic transmission events of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) have been described since the start of the pandemic, and the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) designated the detection of SARS-CoV-2 in animals a reportable disease. Eighteen domestic and zoo animals in Great Britain and Jersey were tested by APHA for SARS-CoV-2 during 2020–2023. One domestic cat (Felis catus), three domestic dogs (Canis lupus familiaris), and three Amur tigers (Panthera tigris altaica) from a zoo were confirmed positive during 2020–2021 and reported to the WOAH. All seven positive animals were linked with known SARS-CoV-2 positive human contacts. Characterisation of the SARS-CoV-2 variants by genome sequencing indicated that the cat was infected with an early SARS-CoV-2 lineage. The three dogs and three tigers were infected with the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant of concern (B.1.617.2). The role of non-human species in the onward transmission and emergence of new variants of SARS-CoV-2 remain poorly defined. Continued surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in relevant domestic and captive animal species with high levels of human contact is important to monitor transmission at the human−animal interface and to assess their role as potential animal reservoirs.