Border Veterinary Quarantine Undervalued in Preventing Zoonotic Disease Invasion, Review Finds
A new review published in Discover Animals argues that veterinary border quarantine, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), is chronically undervalued as a strategic public health infrastructure. The review, led by Muhammad Yasir Alhassan of Symbiosis Institute of Health Sciences in India, along with Farida Abubakar and Abba Idris of Usmanu Danfodiyo University in Nigeria, synthesizes regulatory, operational, epidemiological, and institutional evidence. It highlights that the global movement of live animals, meat, milk, semen, embryos, feed ingredients, and biological materials creates expanding routes for high-epidemic-potential pathogens, such as highly pathogenic avian influenza, African swine fever virus, and foot-and-mouth disease virus, to enter countries lacking adequate biosecurity. These pathogens are prevalent in regions with extensive informal cross-border trade and critical wildlife interfaces, where institutional, technical, and financial resources for quarantine systems are... 
