Portable, cost-effective diagnostic tools can improve early detection and prevent zoonotic transmission of Japanese encephalitis by enabling rapid field screening of amplifying hosts (pigs, wading birds) and sentinel animals, so outbreaks are detected earlier than lab-based surveillance allows; integrating point-of-care antigen/IgM tests into routine veterinary field rounds and linking positive results to fast vector-control and vaccination responses closes the surveillance-to-action loop and reduces spillover risk.