Animal welfare and resistance to disease:interactions of affective state and the immune system

Good management and improved standards of animal welfare are discussed as important ways of reducing the risk of infection in farm animals without medication. Increasing evidence from both humans and non-human animals suggests that environments that promote well-being over stress and positive over n...

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书目详细资料
Main Authors: Dupjan, S, Dawkins, M
格式: Journal article
语言:English
出版: Frontiers Media 2022
实物特征
总结:Good management and improved standards of animal welfare are discussed as important ways of reducing the risk of infection in farm animals without medication. Increasing evidence from both humans and non-human animals suggests that environments that promote well-being over stress and positive over negative emotions can reduce susceptibility to disease and/or lead to milder symptoms. We point out however, that the relationship between welfare, immunity and disease is highly complex and we caution against claiming more than the current evidence shows. The accumulating but sometimes equivocal evidence of close links between brain, gut microbiome, immunity and welfare are discussed in the context of the known links between mental and physical health in humans. This evidence not only provides empirical support for the importance of good welfare as preventative medicine in animals but also indicates a variety of mechanisms by which good welfare can directly influence disease resistance. Finally, we outline what still needs to be done to explore the potential preventative effects of good welfare.