Ricardo J Soares Magalhães

• LMV, MSc, PhD, DiplECVPH
• Professor (Full) at The University of Queensland

Feral pigs threaten biodiversity in 54 countries worldwide and cause an estimated $120 billion of damage annually in the United States of America (USA). Feral pigs imperil over 600 native species and have directly driven 14 species into extinction. Moreover, feral pig populations pose a significant zoonotic disease threat to humans such as Japanese...

Coxiellosis, a zoonotic bacterial infection caused by Coxiella burnetii, affects diverse mammalian hosts and is prevalent worldwide, including in South Asia. This study aimed to investigate the epidemiology of Coxiellosis in South Asia, focusing on distribution, host diversity, prevalence, and associated risk factors at the human–animal–environment...

The presence of antibiotic residues (AR) in animal products such as milk can be an important driver of antimicrobial resistance in commensal and pathogenic bacteria. Previous studies on ARs in Nepal have demonstrated the presence of ARs in milk samples but without further characterization of the samples for risk factor analysis. This study aimed to...

The irrational use of antimicrobials has led to the emergence of resistance, impacting not only pathogenic bacteria but also commensal bacteria. Resistance against colistin, a last-resort antibiotic, mediated by globally disseminated plasmid-borne mobile colistin resistance (mcr) genes, has raised significant global concerns. This cross-sectional s...

Feral pigs are threaten biodiversity in 54 countries worldwide, and cause an estimated $120 billion of damage annually in the US. Feral pigs imperil over 600 native species, and have directly driven 14 species to extinction. Moreover, feral pig populations pose a significant zoonotic disease threat to humans such as Japanese encephalitis, and act a...

Feral pigs are threaten biodiversity in 54 countries worldwide, and cause an estimated $120 billion of damage annually in the US. Feral pigs imperil over 600 native species, and have directly driven 14 species to extinction. Moreover, feral pig populations pose a significant zoonotic disease threat to humans such as Japanese encephalitis, and act a...

Efforts have been made to strengthen national and global antimicrobial resistance (AMR) surveillance programs by integrating data collection across the human, animal, and environmental sectors. We searched the literature to review published studies reporting the implementation of integrated AMR surveillance approaches, and we identified a total of...

Canine distemper virus (CDV) can infect a wide range of mammalian carnivores and can cause severe illness and death. Domestic dogs may be an important source of this virus for endangered wild carnivores. The objective of this study was to establish the presence of CDV in rural areas of Cambodia bordering three established protected habitats, and to...

This study investigated potential Ross River virus (RRV) exposure sites in Greater Brisbane during the Queensland COVID-19 lockdown (January-July 2020). Using RRV notifications, cluster identification techniques, and mobile phone data for movement network analysis, the study examined 993 RRV cases and 9 million movement trajectories from residentia...

Efforts have been made to strengthen national and global antimicrobial resistance (AMR) surveillance programs by integrating data collection across the human, animal, and environmental sectors. We searched the literature to review published studies reporting the implementation of integrated AMR surveillance approaches, and we identified a total of...

The need to address antimicrobial resistance (AMR) through a One Health (OH) approach is now well recognized. There is, however, limited guidance on how AMR surveillance should be implemented across sectors to generate meaningful AMR and AMU data for decision-making. Using a sympatric approach to cross-sector sample collection, Nepal adopted the WH...

Feral pigs are threaten biodiversity in 54 countries worldwide, and cause an estimated $120 billion of damage annually in the US. Feral pigs imperil over 600 native species, and have directly driven 14 species to extinction. Moreover, feral pig populations pose a significant zoonotic disease threat to humans such as Japanese encephalitis, and act a...

Emerging and re-emerging zoonotic diseases pose a significant threat to global health and economic security. This threat is further aggravated by amplifying drivers of change, including climate hazards and landscape alterations induced by climate change. Given the complex relationships between climate change and zoonotic disease health outcomes, a...

Introduction Long-term exposure to fine particulate matter (≤2.5 µm (PM 2.5 )) has been associated with pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) notifications or incidence in recent publications. Studies quantifying the relative contribution of long-term PM 2.5 on TB notifications have not been documented. We sought to perform a health impact assessment to esti...

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a complex challenge that poses a critical threat to food and water safety and security as well as to human, animal and environmental health. It is projected to cost the global economy US$100 trillion by 2050. Australia’s new Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) for Solving Antimicrobial Resistance in Agribusiness, Foo...

Feline upper respiratory tract infections (URI) are of concern, especially in animal shelters. This scoping review identifies epidemiological literature on URI as caused by feline herpesvirus (FHV), feline calicivirus (FCV), Chlamydia felis, Mycoplasma felis and Bordetella bronchiseptica. Four databases were searched, studies were screened, and dat...

Lumpy skin disease (LSD) is a vector-borne infection caused by the poxvirus lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV) and is a serious disease of cattle, water buffalo, and banteng. While the disease has never occurred in Australia, it is regarded as a growing threat to the Australian cattle industry as there is on-going spread of the disease throughout Asia...

The rapid emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Campylobacter has reinforced its status as a foodborne pathogen of significant public health concern. Resistant Campylobacter is typically transferred to humans via the consumption of contaminated animal products, particularly poultry. The genes associated with antimicrobial resistance in Cam...

Rabies is a contagious viral disease that can be easily transmitted by the saliva and brain/nervous system tissues of the infected animals, causing severe and fatal encephalitis in both animals and humans. Vaccination campaigns are crucial to combat and prevent rabies's spread in dogs and humans. The Modified Fuenzalida & Palicios vaccines have bee...

Avian influenza viruses (AIVs) are significant transboundary zoonotic pathogens that concern both animal and human. Since the first report of H5N1 AIV in Bangladesh in early 2007, it resulted in numerous outbreaks across the country, hindering the sustainable growth of the poultry industry through economic losses in different production systems (co...

Background Trichuris trichiura (whipworm) is one of the most prevalent soil transmitted helminths (STH) affecting 604–795 million people worldwide. Diagnostic tools that are affordable and rapid are required for detecting STH. Here, we assessed the performance of the near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) technique coupled with machine learning algorith...

Arbovirus and malaria infections affect more than half of the world’s population causing major financial and physical burden. Current diagnostic tools such as microscopy, molecular and serological techniques are technically demanding, costly, or time consuming. Near-infrared spectroscopy has recently been demonstrated as a potential diagnostic tool...

Canine hookworms are found globally, and infections have been recorded in domestic dogs visiting dog parks in Queensland, Australia. Some canine hookworms also present a risk of zoonotic transmission to humans. Potential transmission of hookworms can occur in the household and at public places because of lack of owner awareness and poor coverage of...

The Middle East respiratory syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is one of the human coronaviruses that causes severe respiratory infection. Bats are considered to be the natural reservoir, where dromedary camels (DC) are the intermediate hosts of the virus. The current study was undertaken to provide an update on global distribution of the virus in cam...

Dermatological conditions may be complicated by Staphylococcus spp. infections influencing skin and nasal microbiota. We investigated the associations between the resident nasal microbiota of shelter dogs with and without dermatological conditions carrying methicillin-resistant and -sensitive Staphylococcus spp. Nasal sampling of 16 dogs with and 5...

Canine-mediated rabies kills tens of thousands of people annually in lesser-developed communities of Asia, Africa, and the Americas, primarily through bites from infected dogs. Multiple rabies outbreaks have been associated with human deaths in Nigeria. However, the lack of quality data on human rabies hinders advocacy and resource allocation for e...

This study aimed to estimate the antimicrobial resistance (AMR) patterns and tetracycline-resistant gene profiles of Escherichia coli (E. coli) from broiler meat and livers sourced from live bird markets (LBMs) and supermarkets (SMs) in Chattogram, Bangladesh. In total, 405 samples were collected from SMs and LBMs, comprising muscle (n = 215) and l...

This study aims to describe the epidemiological characteristics of scrub typhus, detect the spatio-temporal patterns of scrub typhus at county level, and explore the associations between the environmental variables and scrub typhus cases in Anhui Province. Time-series analysis, spatial autocorrelation analysis, and space–time scan statistics were u...

Background Despite the increasing number of cases of scrub typhus and its expanding geographical distribution in China, its potential distribution in Fujian Province, which is endemic for the disease, has yet to be investigated. Methods A negative binomial regression model for panel data mainly comprising meteorological, socioeconomic and land cov...

Objectives The Central Dry Zone (CDZ) is one of the most important livestock production areas of Myanmar. However, there is an eminent lack of information on the attitudes and traditional beliefs of local farmers and livestock supply chain actors in CDZ of Myanmar on the public health implications. A modified data collection instrument of the Healt...

Introduction and Objectives or Purpose Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) or multidrug resistance (MDR) is an “invisible pandemic”. In Bangladesh, Escherichia coli (E. coli) is poultry’s most common pathogen, and antimicrobials are used indiscriminately either as growth promoters or as treatment, which increases the possibility of the emergence of AMR....

Studies examining long-term effects of ambient air pollution exposure, measured as annual averages, on pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) incidence are scarce, particularly in endemic, rural settings. We performed a small-area study in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (NHAR), a high TB-burden area in rural China, using township-level (n = 358 non-overlapping...

While zoonotic diseases are defined by transmission processes between animals and humans, for many of these diseases the presence of a contaminated environmental source is the cause of transmission. Most zoonoses depend on complex environmentally driven interactions between humans and animals, which occur along an occupational and recreational envi...

Background: Childhood anaemia affects 1.8 billion people globally. Little is known about the long-term impact of mass drug administration (MDA) for the control of soil-transmitted helminthiases (STH) on the spatiotemporal variation of anaemia prevalence and severity. We describe the long-term spatiotemporal impact of a 5-year STH MDA programme (20...

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is a severe public health problem globally. Previous studies have revealed insufficient and inconsistent associations between air pollutants, meteorological factors and TB cases. Yet few studies have examined the associations between air pollutants, meteorological factors and TB cases in Beijing. Objective: The purp...

Background: Scrub Typhus (ST) is a rickettsial disease caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi. The number of ST cases has been increasing in China during the past decades, which attracts great concerns of the public health. Methods: We obtained monthly documented ST cases greater than 54 cases in 434 counties of China during 2012–2020. Spatiotemporal w...

In Australia, Japanese encephalitis virus circulated in tropical north Queensland between 1995 and 2005. In 2022, a dramatic range expansion across the southern states has resulted in 30 confirmed human cases and six deaths. We discuss the outbreak drivers and estimate the potential size of the human population at risk.

Background Scrub typhus has become a serious public health concern in the Asia-Pacific region including China. There were new natural foci continuously recognized and dramatically increased reported cases in mainland China. However, the epidemiological characteristics and spatiotemporal patterns of scrub typhus in Fujian province have yet to be inv...

( BJOG . 2021;128:1928–1937. [Epub June 1, 2021]) Cesarean delivery (CD) is recognized as an important life-saving intervention that also carries adverse risks. Following the dramatic rise in CD globally, health organizations have provided recommendations for avoiding preventable CD. Previous analysis of trends in CD coverage have examined global,...

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a waterborne zoonotic disease that can result in a high fatality rate in pregnant women and infants. In 2018, a large HEV outbreak emerged in Chattogram, Bang-ladesh, resulting in 2800 cases and a significant public health response to mitigate the transmission. While the source of the outbreak remained poorly understood,...

Q fever, caused by the bacterium Coxiella burnetii, is an important zoonotic disease worldwide. Australia has one of the highest reported incidences and seroprevalence of Q fever, and communities in the state of Queensland are at highest risk of exposure. Despite Australia’s Q fever vaccination programs, the number of reported Q fever cases has rem...

The largest Australian farm‐based outbreak of Q fever originated from a dairy goat herd. We surveyed commercial dairy goat farms across Australia by testing bulk tank milk (BTM) samples using a commercial indirect enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay and two quantitative polymerase chain reactions (PCRs). Of the 66 commercial dairy goat herds on recor...

Over four months in the winter of 2016–2017, 343 poultry farms in South Korea reported highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N6 occurrences, leading to the culling of 40 million poultry. Our study aimed to describe the spatial epidemiology of the 2016–2017 HPAI H5N6 outbreak in Gyeonggi Province, the most affected area in South Korea, comprisi...

Background Countries in the South and Southeast Asia region grapple with significant challenges due to the double burden of malnutrition (DBM) in women. An understanding of the country specific DBM geographical and socioeconomic distribution in South and Southeast Asian countries will enable targeting of DBM interventions towards high-risk populati...

Abstract Background Canine allergic dermatitis is a common diagnosis in veterinary practices which can lead to secondary infections requiring treatment with antimicrobials. A previous study suggested that dogs treated with oclacitinib in an Australian referral hospital required fewer courses of antimicrobial therapy compared to dogs receiving other...

In Australia, Japanese Encephalitis virus circulated in tropical north Queensland between 1995 and 2005. In 2022, a dramatic range expansion across the southern states resulted in 24 confirmed human cases and three deaths. We discuss the outbreak drivers and estimate the potential size of the human population at risk.

Introduction: In order to provide refined effects analysis of health communication intervention, this study aims to measure and compare the impact on the knowledge and protective attitudes and behavior intentions(KAP) towards canine rabies of interventions that use the local TV net(V1) and WeChat platform (V2) delivering a short video, and cartoon...

Background The Central Dry Zone (CDZ) of Myanmar is a critical region of livestock production. This region supports 10 million people whose livelihoods depend on small-scale, dry-land agriculture, but it is also one of the poorest regions of Myanmar. Little is known about the constraints to animal health in multi-species livestock farms in this reg...

Introduction: In order to provide refined effects analysis of health communication intervention, this study aims to measure and compare the impact on the knowledge and protective attitudes and behavior intentions(KAP) towards canine rabies of interventions that use the local TV net(V1) and WeChat platform (V2) delivering a short video, and cartoon...

Canine rabies poses a significant risk to humans and animals in Nigeria. However, the lack of reliable tools to evaluate the performance of existing canine rabies control programs to inform public health policy decisions poses a severe obstacle. We obtained canine rabies surveillance data from the National Veterinary Research Institute (NVRI) and s...

Objective: To examine trends in, and projections of, the prevalence of anaemia in women of reproductive age in low- and middle-income countries at national and subpopulation levels. Methods: We used nationally representative data from repeated cross-sectional Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) on 1 092 512 women of reproductive age (15-49 year...

: The influenza A virus of the H7N9 subtype (FLUAV H7N9) emerged in Eastern China provinces in 2013 causing illness in both poultry and humans. Most reported FLUAV H7N9 human cases were related to those associated with the live poultry market chain. From 2013 to 2017, there were five epidemic waves of human infections, and from the end of 2016, the...

Tick paralysis resulting from bites from Ixodes holocyclus and I. cornuatus is one of the leading causes of emergency veterinary admissions for companion animals in Australia, often resulting in death if left untreated. Availability of timely information on periods of increased risk can help modulate behaviors that reduce exposures to ticks and imp...

To examine trends and projections of underweight (Body Mass Index, BMI < 18.5 kg/m²) and overweight (BMI ≥ 25.0 kg/m²) in women of reproductive age in 55 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). We used data from 2,337,855 women aged 15–49 years from nationally representative Demographic and Health Survey conducted between 1990 and 2018. Bayesian...

Scrub typhus (ST) is expanding its geographical distribution in China and in many regions worldwide raising significant public health concerns. Accurate ST time-series modeling including uncovering the role of environmental determinants is of great importance to guide disease control purposes. This study evaluated the performance of three competing...

Current evidence indicates that more than half of all antimicrobials are used in the animal food-producing sector, which is considered a significant risk factor for the development, spread, and existence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) pathogens in animals, humans, and the environment. Among other factors, clinical etiology and the level of knowl...

Dog mediated rabies remains a significant public health risk in Nigeria. We obtained rabies surveillance data from the National Veterinary Research Institute (NVRI), supplemented this information with published literature from Nigeria, and retrieved environmental and sociodemographic variables that might explain canine rabies at the Local Gover...

Existing national- or continental-scale models of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) exposure have a limited capacity to capture subnational spatial variability in sparsely-populated parts of the world where NO2 sources may vary. To test and validate our approach, we developed a land-use regression (LUR) model for NO2 for Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (NHAR) a...

Rhesus macaques are considered an important reservoir of different gastrointestinal (GI) zoonotic parasites affecting livestock and humans. Loads of GI parasites in the free-ranging rhesus macaques living in close proximity to communities in Bangladesh are still unknown. To estimate the prevalence and diversity of zoonotic GI parasites in rhesus ma...

Livestock rearing is an important income source for small-scale farmers in Myanmar, but Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) and Newcastle disease (ND) are major constraints to livestock production. A study was conducted to identify perceptions of farmers about FMD and ND disease risks and perceptions about vaccination practices by using the modified healt...

Background Despite the potentially important role that intensively managed dairy goats play in the spread of Q fever, the prevalence of Coxiella burnetii among dairy goat herds in Australia is largely unknown. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to estimate the prevalence of coxiellosis-positive dairy goat herds in Australia and to identify r...

The World Health Organization (WHO) has been implementing antimicrobial surveillance with a “One Health” approach, known as the Global Surveillance ESBL E. coli Tricycle Project. We describe the implementation of the Tricycle Project (pilot) in Indonesia, focusing on its results, challenges and recommendations. ESBL E. coli was identified in 116 bl...

Background Human rabies remains a significant public health problem in Africa with outbreaks reported in most countries. In Nigeria–the most populous country in Africa–rabies causes a significant public health burden partly due to perennial obstacles to implementing a national prevention and control program. Methods We conducted a scoping review u...

We evaluated the presence of influenza A(H5) virus environmental contamination in live bird markets (LBMs) in Dhaka, Bangladesh. By using Bernoulli generalized linear models and multinomial logistic regression models, we quantified LBM-level factors associated with market work zone–specific influenza A(H5) virus contamination patterns. Results show...

Background Salmonella is an important zoonotic pathogen and its infections are considered among the most commonly and widely distributed food-borne illness reported worldwide. Poultry products have been identified as important sources of Salmonella infection to humans. While there have been reports of high prevalence of Salmonella and multidrug res...

Background: Salmonella is an important zoonotic pathogen and its infections are considered among the most commonly and widely distributed food-borne illness reported worldwide. Poultry products have been identified as important sources of Salmonella infection to humans. While there have been reports of high prevalence of Salmonella and multidrug re...

Objective To examine geographical variations, trends, and projections in the prevalence of childhood anemia at national and subpopulation levels. Design Repeated cross-sectional Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) conducted during 2000-2018. Setting 53 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) Participants 776,689 children aged 6-59 months of age...

Endometrial infections are a common cause of reproductive loss in cattle. Accurate diagnosis is important to reduce the economic losses caused by endometritis. A range of sampling procedures have been developed which enable collection of endometrial tissue or luminal cells or uterine fluid. However, as these are all invasive procedures, there is a...

Dog bites are a recognized public health issue due to their impact on human and animal health/welfare. This study aimed to investigate demographic and geographic disparities in the epidemiology of dog bites presentations reported to the emergency departments of the four main public hospitals in the Metro South region of Brisbane, Queensland, Austra...

Objective: To provide updated information about between-country variations, temporal trends, and changes in inequalities within countries in caesarean delivery (CD) rates. Design: Cross-sectional study of Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) during 1990-2018 SETTING: 74 low- and middle-income countries POPULATION: Women 15-49 years of age who had...

Coxiella burnetii is an intracellular bacterium and the cause of the zoonotic infection, Q fever. National surveillance data on C. burnetii seroprevalence is currently not available for any South American country, making efforts of public health to implement strategies to mitigate infections in different at-risk groups within the population extreme...

In this study, we aimed to investigate the molecular epidemiology of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus pseudintermedius (MRSP) clinical and colonizing isolates of dogs and cats to profile contributing factors associated with their isolation. Nasal and rectal samples were collected from dogs...

Spectroscopy-based techniques are emerging diagnostic and surveillance tools for mosquito-borne diseases. This review has consolidated and summarised recent research in the application of Raman and infrared spectroscopy techniques including near- and mid-infrared spectroscopy for malaria and arboviruses, identified knowledge gaps, and recommended f...

Background: The Central Dry Zone (CDZ) of Myanmar is a critical region of livestock production. This region supports 10 million people whose livelihoods depend on small-scale, dry-land agriculture, but it is also one of the poorest regions of Myanmar. Little is known about the constraints to animal health in multi-species livestock farms in this re...