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Open research questions in Animal Disease Management and Epidemiology

840 gap statements mined from Animal Disease Management and Epidemiology papers in our 7.9M-paper local library, which holds 1,784 papers on the topic — drawn mostly from each paper's own stated research gap, future-work, challenge and limitation notes, and its abstract. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one.

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What the literature leaves open

  • A limitation of the present study is that all experiments were performed in MDBK cells. The results are also limited to an in vitro MDBK cell model and a predefined combination ratio.

    Combined use of dill essential oil and tannic acid creates stage-specific, and time-dependent antiviral effect against bovine viral pathogens (BoHV-1, BVDV, BPIV-3, BRSV, and BEV) · 2026 · DOI

  • The biological significance of VP2 L80M therefore remains unclear, and further studies are needed to determine whether this substitution affects viral replication, pathogenicity, or antigenic properties. However, the mechanism underlying this cross-reactivity remains unknown and warrants further investigation.

    Development of a Recombinant O/CATHAY Topotype Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus as a Resource for Vaccine Matching and Efficacy Evaluation · 2026 · DOI

  • Standardized challenge models using diverse recombinant ASFV strains will be important for evaluating cross-protection and establishing robust correlates of protection. Greater clarity regarding humoral and cellular immune mechanisms, as well as the pathways by which ASFV subverts innate immunity, is urgently needed.

    African Swine Fever: Vaccine Advancement and Major Gaps · 2026 · DOI

  • This tick species is a proven vector for ASF; therefore, the possible role of the sand tampan as a vector for ASFV in Sri Lanka, especially in the national parks, warrants further investigation.

    Emergence of African Swine Fever in Sri Lanka, 2024 · 2026 · DOI

  • The precise mechanisms driving this subtype diversity, however, remain to be fully elucidated.

    Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus and Vaccine Protection Strategies · 2026 · DOI

  • However, how pH108R deletion inhibits ASFV DNA replication remains unknown and needs to be investigated in the future. However, the detailed mechanism of pA104R reduction caused by pH108R is complicated and needs to be investigated in the future. Currently, the mechanisms for ASFV genome replication have not been fully elucidated, while several genes involved in ASFV genome replication and repair have been reported.

    Involvement of the African swine fever virus protein pH108R in virion morphogenesis · 2026 · DOI

  • Across all modelling approaches, more consistent reporting of model evaluation, including appropriate model adequacy assessment, assumption checking, and uncertainty quantification, would improve the transparency, robustness, and comparability of future studies.

    Modelling African Swine Fever Transmission and Epidemiology: A Scoping Review of Mechanistic, Statistical, and Machine Learning Approaches · 2026 · DOI

  • Thus, the mechanism underlying the increased Ct values observed following carrier RNA supplementation during silica membrane-based workflow of tissue samples remains unclear.

    Effects of Sample Matrix, RNA Extraction Method, Carrier RNA, and Storage Conditions on RT-qPCR Detection of Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus · 2026 · DOI

  • The need to account for the evolving interferon-γ testing policy and implementation. The requirement to consider the complex interactions between herd size, residency times, and other factors.

    Residency time and other risk factors for large bovine tuberculosis breakdowns in Irish cattle herds · 2026 · DOI

  • Further research into the detailed mechanisms through which STAT3 promotes viral replication, including the specific genes and pathways involved, is needed to fully exploit this therapeutic target.

    Transcriptome Profiling Reveals That the African Swine Fever Virus C315R Exploits the IL-6 STAT3 Signaling Axis to Facilitate Virus Replication · 2025 · DOI

  • Future research may focus on developing detection schemes that do not require RNA extraction to simplify the operation process and shorten the detection time.

    Implementation of RT-RAA and CRISPR/Cas13a for an NiV Point-of-Care Test: A Promising Tool for Disease Control · 2025 · DOI

  • In general, there is a lack of evidence supporting the existence of long-term invertebrate carriers of ASFV except soft ticks of the genus Ornithodoros.

    The Involvement of MGF505 Genes in the Long-Term Persistence of the African Swine Fever Virus in Gastropods · 2025 · DOI

  • Moreover, future research should focus on developing standardized biosecurity assessment schemes. It is important to highlight that the lack of standardized biosecurity criteria for small ruminant production, making it difficult to compare results with other studies and establish clear compliance benchmarks, represents a limitation.

    Biosecurity Practices in Portuguese Small Ruminant Farms: Current Status and Future Directions · 2025 · DOI

  • While the 3AB protein has been explored for SVA serology, a tandem antigen combining 3AB and 3C epitopes, similar to the highly effective 3ABC of FMDV, had not been reported for SVA until now.

    Indirect ELISA Using Multi-Antigenic Dominants of 3AB and 3C Recombinant Protein to Detect Antibodies Against Senecavirus A in Pigs · 2025 · DOI

  • Despite BHK-21 cells’ common use for FMDV culture, their transcriptional changes remain underexplored. Moreover, KEGG analysis revealed that FMDV significantly impacts immunity-related cellular pathways, although the underlying mechanisms of these effects remain elusive.

    Comparative Transcriptomics Analysis of Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus-Infected Cell Model Systems · 2025 · DOI

  • This study provides novel insights into the immunological, oxidative, and genetic responses to sheep pox virus infection, but several limitations should be noted. COVID-19 infection and oxidative stress: An under-explored approach for prevention and treatment? Pan Afr.

    Sheep Pox Susceptibility: Role of Genetic Variants, Gene Expression, and Immune-Oxidative Markers · 2025 · DOI

  • As a further limitation of this study, the culling of dams between the PRE and POSTVAC study groups may have removed less productive animals. This is further limited by the fact that only one calendar year was compared before and after intervention.

    The Evaluation of Selected Production Indicators Following the Implementation of Vaccination as Part of a BVDV Eradication Strategy in Two Endemically Infected Beef Suckler Herds · 2025 · DOI

  • In sub-Saharan Africa, many different ASFV genotypes circulates, and therefore future studies should focus on possible recombination between the common ASFV genotypes that are co-circulating in the region. The exact reason for the absence of fever remains unclear; however, it could be due to per-acute disease induced by the highly virulent strains in suckling piglets.

    Generation of Chimeric African Swine Fever Viruses Through In Vitro and In Vivo Intergenotypic Gene Complementation · 2025 · DOI

  • These data suggest that the contribution of pE120R to ASFV replication remains to be fully understood and warrants further exploration in more suitable experimental systems.

    Antibody-Dependent Cellular Cytotoxicity Elicited by the Antibodies Against the E120R Protein of African Swine Fever Virus · 2025 · DOI

  • For example, whether other conserved BVDV antigens or fragments other than glycoprotein E2 can be used as immunogens to activate broadly neutralizing antibodies needs to be further investigated.

    A Novel Trivalent BVDV mRNA Vaccine Displayed by Virus-like Particles Eliciting Potent and Broad-Spectrum Antibody Responses · 2025 · DOI

  • However, the early protective capacity of the currently available live marker vaccines against the transplacental transmission of CSFV within two weeks of vaccination is not yet known—a critical issue in endemic and emergency settings, where pregnant sows may be exposed shortly after immunization.

    Protection Against Transplacental Transmission of a Highly Virulent Classical Swine Fever Virus Two Weeks After Single-Dose FlagT4G Vaccination in Pregnant Sows · 2025 · DOI

  • Although estimation of the effective reproduction number is fundamental for understanding the status of an epidemic, studies specifically addressing this epidemiological parameter remain relatively scarce.

    Spatio-Temporal Dynamics of African Swine Fever in Free-Ranging Wild Boar (Sus scrofa): Insights from Six Years of Surveillance and Control in Slovakia · 2025 · DOI

  • Because there have been few studies on the effect of bovine lactoferrin peptide on porcine microRNA virus, in the present work, we explored the anti-FMDV and anti-SVA effects of LFCA.

    Inhibitory Effects of Bovine Lactoferricin-Lactoferrampin on Senecavirus A and Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus with Recombinant Lactobacillus Oral Treatment in Mice · 2025 · DOI

  • Our work was limited to analyzing responses to BVDV, but knowledge of WTD response to these additional pathogens would further enhance our understanding of how these vaccines shape the WTD immune response.

    Characterization of Cellular and Humoral Immunity to Commercial Cattle BVDV Vaccines in White-Tailed Deer · 2025 · DOI

  • Potential mechanisms for the positive effect of dairy management on case count may include physiological pressures, genetic susceptibility or management…

    Residency time and other risk factors for large bovine tuberculosis breakdowns in Irish cattle herds · 2026 · DOI

Most-cited papers in Animal Disease Management and Epidemiology

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Open questions raised by papers listed on this page include: (1) The biological significance of VP2 L80M therefore remains unclear, and further studies are needed to determine whether this substitution affects viral replication, pathogenicity, or antigenic properties (“Development of a Recombinant O/CATHAY Topotype Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus as…”, 2026); (2) The precise mechanisms driving this subtype diversity, however, remain to be fully elucidated (“Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus and Vaccine Protection Strategies”, 2026); (3) How pH108R deletion inhibits ASFV DNA replication remains unknown and needs to be investigated in the future (“Involvement of the African swine fever virus protein pH108R in virion…”, 2026); (4) The mechanism underlying the increased Ct values observed following carrier RNA supplementation during silica membrane-based workflow of tissue samples remains unclear (“Effects of Sample Matrix, RNA Extraction Method, Carrier RNA, and Storage…”, 2026); (5) Further research into the detailed mechanisms through which STAT3 promotes viral replication, including the specific genes and pathways involved, is needed to fully exploit this therapeutic target (“Transcriptome Profiling Reveals That the African Swine Fever Virus C315R…”, 2025). 840 gap statements have been mined from Animal Disease Management and Epidemiology papers in our 7.9M-paper local library, which holds 1,784 papers on the topic; the gaps come from whichever of those papers state one. They are mostly the research gaps the authors state and the papers' abstracts, plus future-work, limitations and challenges passages. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one, so you can read the original claim in context.

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