Zoonoses Transfer, Factory Farms and Unsustainable Human–Animal Relations
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
The authors tried to show some zoonotic diseases could be transferred from animals to humans on factory farms caused of the unsustainable human-animal interactions.
Major notes
Although the manuscript tries to show a severe health problem, the content contains too many general and ambiguous statements.
Line 31-31. Emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) are not equal to zoonotic diseases. Thus the human-animal relationship is not always the cause of the EIDs.
Line 94-97. The sentence is unclear; please rewrite and give an obvious explanation on
Line 114-115. It is not true. For instance, Enterobius vermicularis, chicken pox and other agents can cause human infectious diseases, and they circulate only among humans. Please explain the sentence precisely.
Line 146-149. Very confusing sentence. The reader can not understand the meaning. Please make it clear with a proper explanation.
Line 149-153. There is no cause-effect relationship between the sentences; please rewrite them. A pathogen's zoonotic potential depends on its host switching capability. The antibiotic resistance could hamper the implementation of defensive strategies.
Line 177-180. The authors illustrate some risk scenarios using the highly pathogenic avian virus H5N1. It is hard to understand why the authors show antibiotic resistance. Of course, this is a highly relevant problem but not concerned with the spread of the H5N1 virus. Please delete this section.
The authors use a lot of disclosures that seem to be true all over the world. Thus its message is not so smashing.
Line 193-207. This explanation is true in any part of the word but not true in other parts. In the EU, the Council Directive 1999/74/EC strictly regulates the minimum standards of keeping conditions. The farmers must keep their animals in enriched cages or alternative systems. Please rewrite the section.
Line 213. The growth-promoting drugs are restricted in the EU; thus, this explanation is false.
Line 224-235. Although I agree with the authors, I should ask them to compose more sophisticated sentences about the slaughtering process. The shown labour circumstances and exploitation (exposure to bodily harm, excessive and unnecessary risk, and lack of protection) can not be found in every part of the world. For instance, the EU has strict animal slaughtering and safety work legislation. I think insufficient personal hygiene, or the lack of hygiene, has a more considerable role than the labour circumstances. The authors should also detail the workers' personal responsibility in the disease spread to get a whole picture.
Line 250-251. It is not true; see the previous comment.
Line 256. The 'human exploitation' phrase is questionable; see the personal hygiene comment.
Minor notes
I did not check all of the cited references in the manuscript, but I have found several missing ones from the reference list. Some of them:
Line 20. Reference Baylor College of Medicine 2021 is missing from references.
Line 25. Reference Allen et al. 2017 is missing from references.
Line 56. Reference Taubenberger & Morens, 2006is missing from references.
Line 78-79. Reference Li, Cho, Sly & Pak, 2008 is missing from references.
Line 85. Reference UN, 2000 is missing from references.
Line 227-228. Reference Richards & Richards, 2011 is missing from references.
Line 278. References Deutsche Welle 2021; ILRI-UNEP 2020 are missing from the references.
Other minor notes
Line 88. UN, 2000; Zhu
Line 98. Covid-19 emerged in 2019.
Line 126. What does 'EIDs' mean?
Line 130. NABOF, 2010;
Line 132. What does 'CAFO' mean?
Line 136. Use consequently the phrase 'factory farming'.
Line 139-143. The cited reference has not contacted the section; please find a correct reference.
Line 145. What does 'external parasite' mean?
Line 411-412. Use the correct citation; see https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/59792
Author Response
Please see the attachment.
Author Response File: 
Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 2 Report
In this article, the authors did an excellent job of providing information on one of the most important issues globally. The unsustainable proximity of humans and animals is a major cause of the development of zoonoses. The current study is directly associated with humans and animals. I believe this article will assist in implementing actions to mitigate the zoonoses transfer as well as the adverse effects of various zoonotic diseases. However, I have a few comments as follows, which should be addressed before publication:
General comments:
· Please improve the quality of the abstract by mentioning 2-3 more significant outcomes of your article. Also, you can mention the objectives of your article.
· Is it possible to provide a section entitled “Anthropogenic actions associated with zoonoses”?
· I think the article will be more eye-catching if you can provide figures for sections 2, 3, and 4. I recommend it.
· In section 2, you’ve broadly described the consequences of influenza and coronaviruses. You did a great job here. I’m just wondering, is it possible to briefly describe a few of the other important zoonotic diseases using tables (you can mention the year of the first emergence, country, the possible/exact natural or intermediate host, transmission pathway, case fatality rate/number of mortality, epidemiology, etc.)?
· Because the one-health approach is an important method for mitigating zoonoses, please describe it separately (I believe you should), rather than in the conclusion section.
· If possible, please mention some recommendations to the owners of the factory farm-level. You can do it as a separate section or in the conclusion.
Other comments:
Line 94-95: SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 are not similar. SARS-CoV-2 is a virus, while COVID-19 is a disease. So, you can’t say SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19. Please correct this.
Line 126: Please provide the full form of “EIDs”. You’ve used “emerging infectious diseases” multiple times, so you can use “EIDs” instead of others (by giving this abbreviation at the place of the first use of “emerging infectious diseases”).
Line 132: Please mention the full form of “CAFO”.
Author Response
Please see the attachment.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 3 Report
The article Zoonoses Transfer, Factory Farms and Unsustainable Human-Animal Relations submitted for publication in Sustainability by Alyssa Marchese and Alice Hovorka is about an important aspect. However, it needs some necessary improvement before acceptance for publication. Here are my observations1. Improve abstract and details of possible factors which contribute to emerging zoonoses
2. Introduction line 20; write complete names of diseases when appearing for the first time in text 3. Methodology is not well described, how to search paper, duration, databases used, keys words, inclusion/exclusion criteria etc. 4. Conclusion section is too long. write a short and comprehensive conclusion 5. It will be great to provide some additional data in tabulated form tooAuthor Response
Please see the attachment.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Round 2
Reviewer 1 Report
I appreciate that the authors have considered almost all of the suggested recommendations.
In the revised version, only a few comments arose. Please consider the followings:
Line 46-50 (or anywhere in the Introduction): Make it clear that the paper focuses only on the United States and Canada poultry industry.
Line 53: Google Scholar
Line 175-177: We agree that antibiotic resistance (AR) is one of the poultry sector's biggest problems, if not the biggest. My problem is that in Lines 175-177, the authors wanted to illustrate the high risk of the spread and transmission of the H5N1 virus. I suggest the authors should summarise the facilitating factors using four points. Currently, there is no evidence that the AR may benefit the spread of H5N1. Leave the AR and show it in a separate section because the expansion of AR could be irrespective of the H5N1 virus. Briefly, AR and H5N1 are two different problems but can sometimes exist and threaten humans simultaneously.
Author Response
Please see the attachment
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 3 Report
Congratulations
Author Response
Thank you!
