EMERGING ZOONOTIC BACTERIAL INFECTIONS: DIAGNOSTIC CHALLENGES AND PUBLIC HEALTH IMPLICATIONS
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Keywords
Zoonotic bacterial infections; Emerging infectious diseases; Diagnostic challenges; One Health; Public health surveillance; Molecular diagnostics; Antimicrobial resistance; Low- and middle-income countries
Abstract
Emerging zoonotic bacterial infections represent a persistent and expanding global public health challenge, driven by intensified human–animal–environment interactions, climate change, urbanization, and globalization of food systems. These infections account for a substantial proportion of emerging infectious diseases worldwide and disproportionately affect low- and middle-income countries, where limited diagnostic capacity and fragmented surveillance systems hinder timely detection and response. Clinically, zoonotic bacterial diseases often present as non-specific febrile illnesses that overlap with endemic tropical infections, resulting in frequent misdiagnosis, underreporting, delayed treatment, and increased morbidity and mortality.
Conventional diagnostic methods, including culture and serology, remain constrained by low sensitivity, prolonged turnaround times, biosafety concerns, and cross-reactivity, while access to advanced molecular and genomic diagnostics is uneven across regions. Although polymerase chain reaction–based assays, multiplex panels, and next-generation sequencing have improved pathogen detection and antimicrobial resistance profiling, their implementation in endemic settings remains limited by cost, infrastructure, and workforce constraints.
This review synthesizes current evidence on the epidemiology, ecological and socioeconomic drivers, major emerging zoonotic bacterial pathogens, and the diagnostic challenges that impede effective clinical management and public health control. In addition, it examines surveillance gaps, outbreak potential, economic consequences, and the growing contribution of zoonotic pathogens to antimicrobial resistance. Emphasizing integrated solutions, the review highlights the critical role of the One Health approach in strengthening diagnostics, surveillance, prevention, and control strategies. Sustained investment in laboratory capacity, intersectoral collaboration, and climate-adaptive surveillance is essential to reduce the burden of zoonotic bacterial infections and enhance global health security.
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Gopinath Prakasam
Department of Microbiology, Indira Medical College and Hospitals, Pandur, Thiruvallur, Tamil Nadu, India.
Kumaran Ganesan
Department of Microbiology, Vels Medical college and Hospital, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
Krishna Murthy
Department of Microbiology, Dr Chandramma Dayananda Sagar Institute of medical education and research, Dayananda Sagar University (DSU), Bengaluru, Karnataka, India.
