Lumpy skin disease (LSD) is a vector-borne disease of cattle and Asian water buffalo that is included on the OIE (World Organisation for Animal Health) list of notifiable diseases. In July 2019 LSD was introduced to Bangladesh, China and India and then spread to Nepal and Bhutan and in 2020 to various provinces of China and India. A qualitative risk assessment was conducted to assess the likelihood of introduction and/or spread of LSD in 23 countries in South, East and Southeast Asia based on information available up to 31 October 2020. The economic impact of LSD for South, East and Southeast countries was estimated to be up to USD 1.45 billion in direct losses of livestock and production. These losses may be higher, due to the severe trade implications for infected countries. This document provides an overview of LSD control approaches, including prevention. The cost-effectiveness estimation demonstrates a strong economic justification for vaccination and advocates for a regional approach to harmonize control measures.

FAO’s major publications series are presented together in a user-friendly catalogue. The catalogue features all of the most active series, both new and long-standing, and is divided into areas of work, including agriculture, forestry, fisheries, trade and investment, among others. Each series entry includes technical specifications, language versions, most recent titles, relevant ISSNs, and QR codes linking to online resources in the FAO Document Repository.

Over thousands of years, wildlife has coexisted with domestic animals in dynamic systems. The domestic-wildlife interfaces are those physical spaces where wild and domestic species overlap and potentially interact through direct and indirect contact, with the inherent risk of pathogen transmission. The nature of this interface is complex and can significantly vary over time and across landscapes throughout the world. Over the last centuries, processes such as human intervention on agriculture and animal husbandry, industrialization, or globalization have altered ecosystems. These changes often lead to more interconnected interfaces and increased opportunities for the emergence and spread of pathogens because the human population is increasing and expanding, livestock production is therefore increasing to supply the growing food demand, and wildlife, often under the pressure of habitat reduction, is becoming more exposed to these new interfaces.

We are now entering the third decade of the 21st Century, and, especially in the last years, the achievements made by scientists in the field of Microbiology have been exceptional, leading to major advancements. Frontiers has organized a series of Research Topics to highlight the latest advancements in science in order to be at the forefront of science in different fields of research. This specific editorial initiative, led by Dr. Axel Cloeckaert is focused on new insights, novel developments, current challenges, latest discoveries, recent advances and future perspectives in the field. The Research Topic solicits brief, forward-looking contributions from the editorial board members that describe the state of the art, outlining recent developments and major achieved accomplishments, future challenges and how to address those challenges to move the field forward. Reviews, Mini-Reviews, Perspectives, and Opinions summarizing the current state and future directions of the field are particularly welcome in this collection.

Following the re-introduction of the African swine fever virus (ASFV) in the Americas after 40 years of absence, FAO conducted a qualitative risk assessment for the likelihood of entry of ASF from the Dominican Republic and Haiti to unaffected countries and territories of the Americas and the likelihood of exposure to susceptible animal populations should the disease be introduced. In addition, the potential economic and social impact of ASFV spreading across the continent was assessed. The risk assessment covers the period of December 2021 to February 2022 and considered six risk pathways of introduction and spread. The methodology, information used and results of the risk assessment and economic impact assessment are available in this publication along with recommendations for prevention and control of ASFV introduction and spread in the region. In addition, the publication compiles information collected from 35 countries/territories in the Americas through a questionnaire and presents evidence on the complex swine/pork value chains in the region retrieved from various sources.

Pastoral systems have evolved to function with the natural environment and therefore with variability. By identifying variability as an entry point, this paper aims at (i) engaging FAO in the mainstreaming of pastoralism by establishing the understanding of pastoralism, and its systematic inclusion in the normal operations of FAO, and at (ii) presenting an evidence based narrative on pastoralism to a specialists’ audience. Two main points are made in this document: First, pastoral systems are emblematic of farming with nature. Second, pastoral systems make use of variability in inputs (the environment) by matching it with variability in their own operational processes (flexibility in movements, animal breeds, labour force, etc.) in such a way as to reduce the variability in outputs (animal production and health, household’s food security, etc). Since 2015, the Pastoralist Knowledge Hub (PKH) has helped creating an institutional space for connecting and coordinating work on pastoralism within FAO. An Inter-Departmental Working Group on Pastoralism has been formed. The conceptual framework of this paper and early versions have benefited from comments and guidance of FAO staff as well as of specialists of pastoralism worldwide.

Soils contribute to the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals through carbon sequestration. By enhancing soil health and fertility, soils can play a crucial role in climate action, land degradation neutrality, and alleviating hunger. The present study provides a spatially explicit report on the state of grassland soils and can be used as a baseline for future work to explore the impacts of livestock management on soil carbon at regional, country and farm levels. Assessing the current state of grassland systems and their potential to sequester carbon in the soil is of key importance to understand the trade-offs between grassland services on food security, biodiversity conservation and climate mitigation.

This catalogue aims to improve the dissemination and outreach of FAO’s knowledge products and overall publishing programme. By providing information on its key publications in every area of FAO’s work, and catering to a range of audiences, it thereby contributes to all organizational outcomes. From statistical analysis to specialized manuals to children’s books, FAO publications cater to a diverse range of audiences. This catalogue presents a selection of FAO’s main publications, produced in 2020 or earlier, ranging from its global reports and general interest publications to numerous specialized titles. In addition to the major themes of agriculture, forestry and fisheries, it also includes thematic sections on climate change, economic and social development, and food safety and nutrition.

Antimicrobial resistance is a global and increasing threat. Stewardship campaigns have been established, and policies implemented, to safeguard the appropriate use of antimicrobials in humans, animals, and plants. Restrictions on their use in animal production are on the agenda worldwide. Producers are investing in measures, involving biosecurity, genetics, health care, farm management, animal welfare, and nutrition, to prevent diseases and minimize the use of antimicrobials. Functional animal nutrition to promote animal health is one of the tools available to decrease the need for antimicrobials in animal production. Nutrition affects the critical functions required for host defence and disease resistance. Animal nutrition strategies should therefore aim to support these host defence systems and reduce the risk of the presence in feed and water of potentially harmful substances, such as mycotoxins, anti-nutritional factors and pathogenic bacteria and other microbes. General dietary measures to promote gastrointestinal tract health include the selective use of a combination of feed additives and feed ingredients to stabilize the intestinal microbiota and support mucosal barrier function. This knowledge, used to establish best practices in animal nutrition, could allow the adoption of strategies to reduce the need for antimicrobials and contain antimicrobial resistance.

Viral infections in animals occasionally develop potentially fatal diseases that affect almost all organs. Especially in zoonotic diseases, the causative agents that usually exist in animals can be transmitted between animal species to humans directly or via a vector. Throughout recent history, disease outbreaks and pandemics including SARS, H7N9, Ebola, and COVID-19, have led to a dramatic loss of human life worldwide and harmed economic growth. The most effective strategies for the control of disease are vaccination and early diagnosis. Vaccines directed against viral and bacterial pathogens prevent catastrophic losses of life in humans, other animals, and plants, and are considered among the greatest public health achievements. Rapid and accurate detection of pathogens and identification of the aetiologic agent play a crucial role at every step of disease management. In the case of zoonotic illnesses, early detection of wildlife aids in the establishment of a surveillance system, allowing for the introduction of efficient and timely disease control interventions to prevent transmission from animal to human. At present, variations and deletions in the genome of the virus are of common occurrence during evolution, coupled with the new emerging disease and cross-species disease transmission, which are increasing the potential for the transmissibility and severity of the disease. For this reason, developing safe and effective vaccines, and enhancing the sensitivity and specificity of the diagnostic methods are urgently required. The scope of this research topic will share and discuss findings in the areas of diagnosis of viral diseases or vaccine development for all animal species, including terrestrial and aquatic mammals, fishes, insects, birds, etc.