ABSTRACT
Background and Aim: Zoonotic diseases pose substantial threats to global public health, emphasizing the importance of veterinary epidemiology in surveillance and prevention. However, the growth, geographic distribution, collaborative networks, and thematic evolution of zoonoses research remain insufficiently characterized. This study aimed to map the bibliometric landscape of zoonoses research in veterinary epidemiology from 1956 to 2024, with particular emphasis on the transition toward molecular and genomic approaches.
Materials and Methods: A bibliometric analysis was conducted using 1,867 Scopus-indexed documents published between 1956 and 2024 and retrieved on February 14, 2026. Publication trends, citation performance, geographic contributions, institutional productivity, and international collaboration were evaluated. Co-authorship and keyword co-occurrence networks were constructed using VOSviewer with association-strength normalization. Temporal overlay visualization and comparative keyword-frequency analysis were used to identify emerging research themes and quantify changes in molecular, genomic, and serological research emphasis.
Results: Annual publication output increased at a compound annual growth rate of 14.4% during 2000–2024 (R² = 0.88), reaching 329 documents in 2024. Research articles accounted for 77.8% of publications, while English-language documents represented 94.2%. The United States contributed the most publications (400; 21.4%), followed by Brazil (196; 10.5%) and the United Kingdom (193; 10.3%). Internationally co-authored publications represented 38.2% of records with usable affiliation data. The corpus accumulated 54,734 citations, with an h-index of 109. Keyword network analysis identified five thematic clusters spanning epidemiology, public health, serological surveillance, molecular genetics, and companion-animal research. The proportion of publications containing molecular or genomic keywords increased significantly from 50.5% in 2005–2014 to 70.2% in 2015–2024 (p < 0.001), indicating a measurable shift in research emphasis.
Conclusion: Zoonoses research in veterinary epidemiology has expanded substantially, accompanied by increasing molecular and genomic emphasis and growing international collaboration. Nevertheless, geographic disparities persist. Strengthening genomic surveillance capacity, interdisciplinary One Health research, and equitable partnerships with endemic regions may improve future zoonotic disease surveillance and control. These findings reflect bibliometric trends rather than verified changes in laboratory practices.