Ecology of infectious animal diseases

The emergence, persistence and spread of diseases is the result of a number of factors linked to the dynamic biological or ecological interplay among and between the infectious agents, the hosts (intermediary or definitive), the community of hosts (intermediary or definitive, including wildlife), vectors in the case of vector-borne diseases, the environment, including other living organisms found in agro-ecosystems, and human activity. Understanding this interplay, at various spatial scales (herd, farm, landscape), in particular the capacity of infectious agents, vectors or hosts to persist in different agro-ecosystems, to circulate between them, or to evolve and potentially become more pathogenic or jump between species is often incomplete for known diseases, and virtually non-existent for new diseases, like the emergence of Coronavirus infections highlighted.

The proposals should address relevant areas of research in terrestrial livestock, and related wildlife as appropriate and should contribute to:

1. understanding the population dynamics of pathogens in and outside hosts, including interactions within and between humans and animals;

2. understanding the drivers of pathogen evolution (e.g. mutations) and their impact on virulence and cross-species transmission;

3. understanding the impact of the host immune response on pathogen adaptation / evolution;

4. understanding the mechanisms of behaviour/persistence of pathogens in animals, animal products, vectors and outside the host (e.g. environment, fomites);

5. inactivation of pathogens in a changing environment;

6. understanding antimicrobial resistance development, where relevant.

The choice of the infectious agent / diseases should take into account their importance for the EU policy and regulatory framework, not least for epizootic diseases such as African swine fever, avian influenza or African horse sickness, or for zoonotic pathogens, or major diseases, including production diseases, responsible for high antimicrobial usage and potential transfer of resistance to human pathogens or microbiota. Where appropriate for the diseases targeted, cooperation with relevant professionals outside the animal health domain (e.g. public health, environment) is recommended, as highlighted by the ‘one health’ approach. The gender aspects should be considered, where relevant, e.g. in pathogen transmission.

Proposals may use priorities identified under the SCAR[[Standing Committee on Agricultural Research]] Collaborative Working Group on Animal Health and Welfare[[https://www.scar-cwg-ahw.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Final-Report-CWG-AHW-CASA_updated-EU-AH-SRA.pdf]], Discontools[[www.discontools.eu]], or STAR-IDAZ International Research Consortium[[www.star-idaz.net]]. They should draw on lessons learned from other EU funded projects on selected diseases and clearly underline how they will bring new knowledge and impacts. International research cooperation with non-EU countries where selected diseases are endemic is encouraged to maximise the impact.