Diagnostic and management challenges of animal diseases in global context
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.48165/jvls.2025.1.1.2Keywords:
Animal disease diagnosis, Point-of-care testing, One HealthAbstract
Animal diseases impose a significant burden on global health, food security, and economies. More than 25% of livestock are lost to disease annually worldwide. This review provides an overview of the challenges in rapidly diagnosing and effectively managing animal diseases. Key obstacles to rapid diagnosis include shortages of trained veterinary personnel, inadequate infrastructure (limited laboratory networks and equipment), poor access to advanced technologies, biosecurity lapses, high costs, and regulatory hurdles that impede deployment of new diagnostics. Available point-of-care diagnostic tools for major diseases such as foot-and-mouth disease, brucellosis, canine parvovirus, and avian influenza and their limitations in field use (e.g. sensitivity, specificity, and usability constraints) were discussed. Disease management bottlenecks, from vaccine logistics and treatment access in resource-limited areas to weaknesses in surveillance, reporting, and outbreak containment, are discussed. A comparative analysis highlights how India’s vast animal population and veterinary infrastructure challenges resemble those in many developing countries. Adopting a One Health perspective require animal disease control ties into zoonotic spillover prevention, intersectoral coordination and strengthened global surveillance. Emerging digital tools and artificial intelligence play important role for early disease detection and forecasting. For effective disease diagnosis and control, policy, economic, and educational reforms including greater investment in veterinary services, workforce development, and research are needed to build resilient veterinary systems.
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