Issues and special features of research on animal health

Abstract

In the moving context of research on animal health, a collective discussion has been carried out on its issues, special features and synergism with biomedical research. Strongly enhanced by WHO, FAO and OIE, the issues of animal health are important and deal with food security, agriculture economics and all economical activities that follow from it. Others are related to public health (zoonoses, xenobiotics, antimicrobial resistance), environment and animal welfare. Research on animal health has got special features concerning methodology and scientific questions, among others the particular biological nature of domestic species and breeding practices. Scientific questions are not similar to those of biomedical research, even if dealing with the same pathogens ; connected to the other animal sciences (genetics, physiology, animal breeding), research on animal health takes root in a very specific agricultural and economical reality. Nevertheless, generic and methodological synergies do exist with biomedical research, particularly concerning biological tools and models. Some domestic species like pig have functional similarities with Humans, better than with mouse or rat. Thus, the peculiarity of research on animal health compared to biomedical research should be considered in its organisation, evaluation and funding, through a political recognition of specific issues. Simultaneously, the one health approach should facilitate a thorough collaboration between biomedical research and research on animal health, at the levels of research teams and research programmes.