A One Health framework for exploring the zoonotic web: a case study

Abstract The eco-epidemiology of zoonoses is often oversimplified to host-pathogen interactions while findings derived from global datasets are rarely directly transferable to smaller-scale contexts. Here, we compile and comprehensively analyse a dataset of zoonotic interactions in Austria, spanning 1975-2022. We introduce the concept of zoonotic web to describe the relationships between zoonotic agents, their hosts, vectors, food, and environmental sources. Within the network of zoonotic agent sharing, the most influential zoonotic sources are human, cattle, chicken, and some meat products. Analysis of the One Health cliques confirms the increased probability of zoonotic spillover at human-cattle and human-food interfaces. We characterise six communities of zoonotic agent sharing, which assembly patterns are likely driven by highly connected infectious agents in the zoonotic web, proximity to human, and anthropogenic activities. Additionally, we report a frequency of emerging zoonotic diseases in Austria of one every six years. Our flexible network-based approach offers valuable insights into zoonotic transmission chains, facilitating the development of locally-relevant One Health strategies against zoonoses.