Is Your Livestock at Risk? Dr. Sapna Dass’ Research Could Prevent the Next Big Zoonotic Disease Outbreak

Dr. Sapna Dass' groundbreaking research at Texas A&M AgriLife addresses zoonotic diseases and the risks of disease transmission between wildlife and livestock. Her project, funded by the USDA, aims to prevent future pandemics by identifying emerging pathogens and implementing rapid response strategies before they reach humans. The study focuses on viruses like H5N1 and SARS-CoV-2, exploring how these diseases spread between animals and potentially infect humans.

The H5N1 bird flu, notorious for its rapid spread in wild birds and recent outbreaks in poultry, dairy cows, and even humans, serves as a chilling reminder of the dangers of mixed-species disease transmission. While diseases like these can seem far-fetched, the interaction between wildlife and livestock creates fertile ground for pathogens to jump species — often with catastrophic consequences.

Dr. Sapna Chitlapilly Dass, an assistant professor at Texas A&M AgriLife, is tackling this problem head-on with groundbreaking research into zoonotic diseases — infections that jump from animals to humans. Her work seeks to prevent these diseases from reaching the level of a global pandemic like COVID-19 by addressing the issue at its roots: the interaction between wildlife and livestock.

Dr. Dass is focused on a unique project funded by a $3.03 million USDA grant, titled A Systems Approach to Understanding Wildlife-Farm Animal-Environmental Drivers of Zoonotic Disease Transmission in the Food Supply Chain. This initiative is not only aiming to identify and track emerging pathogens but also to create rapid-response strategies to minimize the impact of these diseases before they escalate into a health crisis.

The Project:
With a team of cross-disciplinary experts, Dr. Dass is exploring the environmental and biological factors that drive disease transmission, particularly in settings where wildlife and livestock interact. The research examines the transmission of viruses like SARS-CoV-2 from wildlife (such as white-tailed deer) to livestock, assessing whether these viruses can persist in the environment — and how they might impact human health.

“The key is to stop diseases before they jump to humans,” says Dass. “The interaction between wildlife and livestock on rangelands is a ticking time bomb for zoonotic diseases. We need to address that before it becomes a global health disaster.”

The team is working in controlled environments to simulate these interactions, testing whether pathogens can spread when both wildlife and livestock share resources, like water troughs. The results could offer crucial insights into how to limit exposure and prevent future outbreaks.

The Bigger Picture:
Dr. Dass’s work also highlights the broader issue of how urban expansion and the encroachment of agricultural lands on wildlife habitats are increasing the likelihood of zoonotic diseases. With more than 400 instances of emerging infectious diseases since 1940, the majority caused by bacteria and viruses like H5N1 and SARS-CoV-2, the need for proactive research has never been more urgent.

While pathogens like the H5N1 bird flu may not be new, Dr. Dass warns that unexpected hosts like dairy cattle are a reminder that diseases are always evolving. “We can’t wait for diseases to reach a human-to-human transmission stage. By then, it’s too late,” she says.

This collaborative research effort brings together experts in animal disease, wildlife ecology, and genomic modeling. The goal is to stop the next big epidemic before it starts — and ultimately protect both livestock and human health.