Emerging and Re-Emerging Viral Infections in Poultry: Integrating Traditional and AI-Based Control Strategies.

Poultry production remains significantly challenged by emerging and re-emerging avian viral diseases, which are influenced by host-pathogen interactions, viral evolution, and intensified farming systems. Viruses like avian influenza viruses (AIV) and Newcastle disease virus (NDV) remain the most persistent threats, while chicken anaemia virus (CAV), avian metapneumovirus (aMPV), adenoviruses, and astroviruses are increasingly recognized for their potential to affect poultry health and productivity. Despite the continued use of vaccination, biosecurity, and conventional diagnostics, effective control is often limited by delayed detection and inadequate integration of surveillance data. This review aims to critically examine the limitations of existing control strategies for major avian viral diseases and to evaluate the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in improving disease surveillance and management. The current knowledge is synthesized on the basis of epidemiology and drivers of key viral infections and how AI-based tools can enhance predictive surveillance, real-time diagnostics, outbreak risk assessment, and vaccine development. The analysis indicates that AI-driven approaches can improve early detection and enable more effective use of heterogeneous data sources across animal, environmental, and public health domains. Integrating these approaches within a One Health framework offers opportunities to strengthen preparedness and response systems. Notwithstanding these benefits many issues regarding use of AI still need to be addressed for successful deployment of AI in diagnosing diseases.