Prioritization of zoonotic viral diseases in feral pigs, domestic pigs and humans interface.
BACKGROUND
Understanding the ecology of diseases requires the comprehension of pathogens in wild life-livestock interface. Feral pigs (Sus scrofa) are a health problem when countries work to prevent and control zoonotic diseases, as their populations raise environmental and health concerns due to infectious agents transmissible to domestic pigs and other animal species, including humans.


OBJECTIVE
To prioritize zoonotic diseases in the feral pigs, domestic animals and humans interface.


METHODS
The semi-quantitative prioritization method based on evidence included 27 criteria founded in recent publications. According to viral etiology we classified them in five categories: epidemiology (eight), prevention/control (three), economy/trade (four), public health (nine) and society (three). Each criterion had a coefficient of 0 to 7 according to their impact based on evidence (maximum sum of 189). Evidence on the criteria for the nine viral diseases analyzed came from the review of 81 sources published between 1977 and 2015.


RESULTS
The top three diseases with the highest score and zoonotic potential were swine influenza (133), hepatitis E (123), and hantavirus infection (103), whose highest scores were observed on epidemiology and public health criteria.


CONCLUSIONS
The semi-quantitative methods of prioritization impartially contribute to decision-making based on evidence; however, they are seldom used in developing countries due to the lack of data from public health surveillance. Control of shared diseases requires the development of strategies to reduce transmission of pathogens between wildlife and domestic animals and humans.
Semillero de Investigación Una Salud, Programa de Medicina Veterinaria, Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Universidad de La Salle, Bogotá, D.C., Colombia. dbenavides29@unisalle.edu.co.
Diana
D
Benavides-Arias
Diego
D
Soler-Tovar
D000818:Animals; D016751:Hepatitis E / Q000821:virology*; D006801:Humans; D011634:Public Health; D062486:Public Health Surveillance; D034421:Sus scrofa; D013552:Swine; D013553:Swine Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015047:Zoonoses / Q000473:pathology
Ecology; Sus scrofa; viruses; zoonoses