O'nyong-nyong Virus (ONNV): Protocol for a Global One Health Bibliometric and Science-Mapping Analysis Incorporating the One Health Evidence Integration Framework (OHEIF)

This study maps the global research landscape of O'nyong-nyong virus (ONNV) — one of the most neglected medically important arboviruses — through a combined bibliometric, scientometric, and structured One Health evidence analysis. ONNV is unique among arboviruses in being transmitted primarily by Anopheles mosquitoes, the same genus responsible for malaria transmission. First isolated in Uganda in 1959, ONNV caused a massive epidemic affecting an estimated two million people across East Africa. Despite this epidemic potential, ONNV remains severely underrepresented in the scientific literature and no dedicated global bibliometric or science-mapping study has been published. The study will characterize: the temporal evolution and geographic distribution of ONNV research; leading authors, institutions, countries, and journals; international collaboration networks; and the intellectual and thematic structure of the field. Beyond conventional bibliometric analysis, the study applies the One Health Evidence Integration Framework (OHEIF) — a novel analytical framework developed to assess whether ONNV research has developed as a genuinely integrated One Health evidence system. OHEIF evaluates: which One Health domains are substantively studied across the empirical evidence base (human, animal/ wildlife, vector, environment/ecology, and food/agriculture/production systems); whether evidence across domains is studied in isolation or explicitly integrated (I0–I2); and how far evidence has progressed from discovery and description towards surveillance, prediction, prevention, and policy action (A0–A4). The study will also examine the unique intersection between ONNV transmission and malaria vector control programmes — given that interventions targeting Anopheles mosquitoes for malaria may simultaneously affect ONNV transmission dynamics — an interface that has received almost no systematic bibliometric attention. Expected outcomes include: the first systematic characterisation of the global ONNV research landscape; identification of research gaps, integration gaps, and preparedness gaps; a dual geographic analysis comparing where ONNV evidence is generated versus where scientific leadership is located; and an assessment of whether ONNV surveillance has evolved from single-domain to integrated One Health approaches. The study will also contribute to validation of the OHEIF analytical framework and the Bibliometric Evidence Landscape Framework (BELF) through their first application to ONNV, informing future multi-disease evaluation of both developmental frameworks.