DISCONTOOLS supplement: Current research gaps for advancing control of infectious diseases in production animals.

Abstract

DISCONTOOLS (DISease CONtrol TOOLS) is an open-access database to assist public and private funders of animal health research in identifying research gaps and planning future research. This database is supported by a range of national funders of animal health research in Europe, with industry providing secretariat support. Information in the database is generated by disease-specific expert groups. In this DISCONTOOLS Supplement, contributing experts expanded their gap analyses into review papers for 15 diseases, covering zoonotic, production and epizootic diseases. Across this diverse array of diseases, it is clear that fundamental research on host-pathogen relationships and immune responses remains critical for evidence-based development of novel vaccines, pharmaceuticals and diagnostics to improve animal health. Furthermore, it is also obvious that there is need to better utilize economics and knowledge regarding "human factors" to optimise uptake and use of a broad range of tools and insights.