Synthesis and Future Perspectives of the Study and Management of Diseases at the Wildlife-Livestock Interface

Abstract

The wildlife-livestock interface has proper ecological and epidemiological entity, with specific niches and epidemiological roles for wild, domestic, and environmental reservoirs. However, the study of this complex interface has a relatively short trajectory, experiencing an explosion of research contributions during the last decade. The wildlife-livestock interface had been often neglected and consequently, infection “spill over” between animal compartments, and also humans, had been largely underreported. Previous chapters illustrated how the world is experiencing unprecedented emergence and spread of diseases in livestock that have “spilled over” to wild populations and later “spilled back” to livestock (chapters “Host Community Interfaces: The Wildlife-Livestock” and “Natural and Historical Overview of the Animal Wildlife-Livestock Interface”). One major conclusion that pervades all chapters is that the inclusion of the study of animal interfaces is a sine qua non condition to understand and address the establishment of newly shared emergent diseases. The control of increased exposure of human and animal populations to novel pathogens, especially those involving wildlife, is a challenging issue, which requires integral and interdisciplinary approaches, as evidenced by the present coronavirus disease (COVID-19) global pandemic.