Bat research networks and viral surveillance are assumed to be at odds due to seemingly conflicting research priorities. Yet human threats that contribute to declines in bat populations globally also lead to increased transmission and spread of bat-associated viruses, which may pose a threat to global health and food security. In this review, we discuss the importance of and opportunities for multidisciplinary collaborations between bat research networks and infectious disease experts to tackle shared threats that jeopardize bat conservation as well as human and animal health. Moreover, we assess research effort on bats and bat-associated viruses globally, and demonstrate that Western Asia has limited published research and represents a gap for coordinated bat research. The lack of bat research in Western Asia severely limits our capacity to identify and mitigate region-specific threats to bat populations and detect interactions between bats and incidental hosts that promote virus spillover. We detail a regional initiative to establish the first bat research network in Western Asia (i.e., the Western Asia Bat Research Network, WAB-Net), with the aim of integrating ecological research on bats with virus surveillance to find “win-win” solutions that promote bat conservation and safeguard public and animal health across the region.

Disposal of sludge produced by sewage treatment plants is an increasing problem worldwide. Recycling of treated wastewater sludge as biosolids is a beneficial and environmentally sustainable management option. Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH through its German-Jordanian Programme 'Management of Water Resources, and in collaboration with Royal Scientific Society of Jordan has launched a project to pilot decentralized management of sludge. Through this project, the quality of sludge generated from Mu'ta-Mazar Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP), which has been selected as the pilot area for Decentralized Integrated Sludge Management (DISM) project, has been assessed over four consecutive years (2016–2019). A complete assessment of the sludge qualities in terms of physical, chemical, pharmaceutical and microbial parameters was conducted. The results of this study will help in evaluating the feasibility of co-digestion of sludge by processing sludge with the other sources of organic waste. The aim of this study is to contribute towards environmental protection and the use of renewable energies and to increase energy efficiency through production of bioenergy and recovery of nutrient content of wastewater sludge and food waste. The study also demonstrates financially viable and technically feasible solutions for the current sludge management issues in WWTPs in Jordan.

Synopsis: Jordan is located on an important spot along the Mediterranean and Black Sea Flyway. Hundreds of migratory bird species have been identified stopping over in Jordan during spring and autumn migratory seasons. Compared to mammals and economically important birds, the microbiomes of wild bird species are severely understudied. Gut microbial composition is a valuable source of information that reflects food preferences, foraging behavior, and the risk of pathogen transmission to humans and other animals. In this study, we assessed the microbiome composition of three species of migrating passerines (willow warblers, lesser whitethroats, and common reed warblers) captured during the spring migration stopover in Jordan in 2023. A total of 59 fecal samples were selected evenly from the three species and subjected to 16S sequencing and microbiome analysis. Our objectives were to determine the diversity of bacteria in these three species, assess the amount of intra- and inter-specific variation, and detect pathogenic genera and species that could pose health risks to humans, domestic animals, and wildlife. Bacteria mainly belonged to the phyla Proteobacteria (62%), Actinobacteriota (18%), Firmicutes (13%), Cyanobacteria (5%), and Bacteroidota (1%). The results reveal that lesser whitethroats had the greatest variation in bacterial genus richness, Shannon diversity, and microbial composition compared to willow warblers and common reed warblers. The three bird species harbored several pathogenic genera and species, including Campylobacter, Enterococcus, Escherichia-Shigella, Mycoplasma, Rickettsia, Clostridium perfringens, and Vibrio cholerae. We suggest further investigation to understand the relationship between migratory behavior and their gut microbiome. We advocate for the use of advanced molecular techniques to characterize the pathogens found in migratory birds that might have public and environmental health impacts in addition to economic loss.