Agriculture-Driven Emergence and Spread of Bacterial Zoonotic Diseases

Information from the abstract

Zoonotic diseases constitute more than 75% of emerging infectious diseases, with bacterial pathogens representing a substantial and growing proportion of this burden. Agricultural practices—encompassing intensive livestock production, antimicrobial use, land-use change, and expansion into wildlife habitats—have emerged as primary drivers of bacterial zoonosis emergence, amplification, and dissemination. This narrative review synthesizes current evidence on how modern agriculture facilitates the spillover, evolution, and transmission of bacterial zoonotic pathogens, including Salmonella spp., Campylobacter spp., Shiga toxigenic Escherichia coli (STEC), livestock-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (LA-MRSA), Brucella spp., Coxiella burnetii, Leptospira spp., Mycobacterium bovis, and emerging multidrug-resistant organisms such as carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae and Acinetobacter baumannii. We examine the mechanisms by which agricultural intensification, antimicrobial misuse, land-use change, and climate interactions create favorable conditions for pathogen emergence and cross-species transmission. The review further discusses transmission pathways—direct contact, foodborne routes, environmental contamination, and vector-mediated spread—and the critical role of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in exacerbating the public health impact of agricultural zoonoses. Finally, we evaluate One Health-based mitigation strategies, including antimicrobial stewardship, biosecurity enhancement, surveillance integration, and policy interventions, and identify research gaps and priorities for future action.

Why this record is monitored

This record has an Impact Signal of 72/100 based on recency, source, collaboration, and bibliographic signals. It prioritizes monitoring and is not a judgment of research quality.

Related topics: Zoonotic diseases and public health · Brucella: diagnosis, epidemiology, treatment · Leptospirosis research and findings