What can phylodynamics bring to animal health research?

Infectious diseases are a major burden to global economies, and public and animal health. To date, quantifying the spread of infectious diseases to inform policy making has traditionally relied on epidemiological data collected during epidemics. However, interest has grown in recent phylodynamic techniques to infer pathogen transmission dynamics from genetic data. Here, we provide examples of where this new discipline has enhanced disease management in public health and illustrate how it could be further applied in animal health. In particular, we describe how phylodynamics can address fundamental epidemiological questions, such as inferring key transmission parameters in animal populations and quantifying spillover events at the wildlife-livestock interface, and generate important insights for the design of more effective control strategies.

Automated summary

Infectious diseases pose a major burden on global economies, public health, and animal health. Phylodynamic techniques, which infer pathogen transmission dynamics from genetic data, have shown promise in enhancing disease management and informing more effective control strategies. These techniques can address fundamental epidemiological questions and quantify spillover events at the wildlife-livestock interface.