Pub Date : 2025-11-01Epub Date: 2025-08-05DOI: 10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106638
Mohammad Rahim Haji Hajikolaei, Masoud Reza Seyfi Abad Shapouri, Tara Tahmasbi, Maryam Faghani, Shoroush Hasanpour, Hamzeh Ghobadian Diali
Malignant catarrhal fever (MCF) is one of the most important viral diseases affecting cattle and buffaloes. One of the viruses associated with this disease is ovine herpesvirus 2 (OvHV-2), which is responsible for sheep-associated MCF. Sheep serve as the reservoir host for OvHV-2, transmitting the virus susceptible species such as buffaloes and cattle. Virus shedding in sheep is thought to be age-dependent. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate OvHV-2 infection in sheep and determine the age at which virus excretion occurs. For this purpose, 191 female sheep from four suburbs of Ahvaz were studied. The studied sheep were female and according to incisors teeth formula divided into six age groups; 3-< 6, 6-< 12 months to 1, 2, 3,and ≥ 4 years. Blood and nasal swab samples were taken from each animal. Buffy coats were removed from the blood samples, and DNA extraction were performed from buffy coats and swab sample. Semi-nested PCR was used to detect OvHV-2 DNA. The PCR results showed that 89.5 % of blood samples and 78.5 % of nasal swabs were positive for OvHV-2. Nasal excretion of the virus was observed across all ages groups, though the frequency varied with age. A significant correlation was found between presence of virus in blood and detection of virus in nasal swap samples. In conclusion, sheep of all ages are capable to excretion OvHV-2 through nasal secretion, posing a risk of infecting susceptible animals.
{"title":"The effect of age on the excretion of ovine herpesvirus-2 (OvHV-2), the causative agent of malignant catarrhal fever (MCF), in naturally infected sheep.","authors":"Mohammad Rahim Haji Hajikolaei, Masoud Reza Seyfi Abad Shapouri, Tara Tahmasbi, Maryam Faghani, Shoroush Hasanpour, Hamzeh Ghobadian Diali","doi":"10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106638","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106638","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Malignant catarrhal fever (MCF) is one of the most important viral diseases affecting cattle and buffaloes. One of the viruses associated with this disease is ovine herpesvirus 2 (OvHV-2), which is responsible for sheep-associated MCF. Sheep serve as the reservoir host for OvHV-2, transmitting the virus susceptible species such as buffaloes and cattle. Virus shedding in sheep is thought to be age-dependent. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate OvHV-2 infection in sheep and determine the age at which virus excretion occurs. For this purpose, 191 female sheep from four suburbs of Ahvaz were studied. The studied sheep were female and according to incisors teeth formula divided into six age groups; 3-< 6, 6-< 12 months to 1, 2, 3,and ≥ 4 years. Blood and nasal swab samples were taken from each animal. Buffy coats were removed from the blood samples, and DNA extraction were performed from buffy coats and swab sample. Semi-nested PCR was used to detect OvHV-2 DNA. The PCR results showed that 89.5 % of blood samples and 78.5 % of nasal swabs were positive for OvHV-2. Nasal excretion of the virus was observed across all ages groups, though the frequency varied with age. A significant correlation was found between presence of virus in blood and detection of virus in nasal swap samples. In conclusion, sheep of all ages are capable to excretion OvHV-2 through nasal secretion, posing a risk of infecting susceptible animals.</p>","PeriodicalId":20413,"journal":{"name":"Preventive veterinary medicine","volume":"244 ","pages":"106638"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144804618","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-01DOI: 10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106735
Ciaran O’Flynn , Harriet Wright , Tom Williams , Zack Ellerby
Despite affecting most dogs, periodontal disease is routinely underdiagnosed, with detection often occurring only after irreversible damage has occurred. Understanding how veterinarians assess periodontitis risk is crucial for developing effective prevention strategies. This study explored risk factor evaluation and ranking by surveying 462 veterinary practitioners across five countries. Participants from general practice and dental specialty backgrounds assessed canine periodontitis risk through clinical vignettes and direct factor ratings. Despite anticipated differences between specialists and generalists, and between geographic regions, practitioners demonstrated consistent risk assessment approaches. Brachycephalic head shape ranked as the highest-weighted risk factor in all groups, followed by age and breed size, with smaller and older dogs consistently receiving higher risk ratings. Clinical presentations showed clear risk gradients, with tooth mobility and gum recession indicating highest risk, whilst bleeding gums alone signalled moderate risk elevation. Preventative care routines demonstrated perceived protective effects, with regular brushing providing greatest benefit, though practitioners recognised partial compliance as significantly protective compared to no preventative oral hygiene. Risk factor prioritisation aligned closely with epidemiological evidence, suggesting effective knowledge translation from research into clinical practice. Practitioners demonstrated an integrative approach to clinical reasoning, combining multiple factors holistically rather than additively. The study generated the first comprehensive data set of veterinary periodontitis risk assessment, providing evidence-based evaluations across specialisations and geographic regions for further analysis. The consistency of risk evaluations supports developing standardized assessment tools whilst highlighting the need for improved owner education to bridge the gap between professional knowledge and prevention outcomes.
{"title":"Veterinary assessment of periodontitis disease risk in dogs: A multi-country survey of clinical decision-making","authors":"Ciaran O’Flynn , Harriet Wright , Tom Williams , Zack Ellerby","doi":"10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106735","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106735","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Despite affecting most dogs, periodontal disease is routinely underdiagnosed, with detection often occurring only after irreversible damage has occurred. Understanding how veterinarians assess periodontitis risk is crucial for developing effective prevention strategies. This study explored risk factor evaluation and ranking by surveying 462 veterinary practitioners across five countries. Participants from general practice and dental specialty backgrounds assessed canine periodontitis risk through clinical vignettes and direct factor ratings. Despite anticipated differences between specialists and generalists, and between geographic regions, practitioners demonstrated consistent risk assessment approaches. Brachycephalic head shape ranked as the highest-weighted risk factor in all groups, followed by age and breed size, with smaller and older dogs consistently receiving higher risk ratings. Clinical presentations showed clear risk gradients, with tooth mobility and gum recession indicating highest risk, whilst bleeding gums alone signalled moderate risk elevation. Preventative care routines demonstrated perceived protective effects, with regular brushing providing greatest benefit, though practitioners recognised partial compliance as significantly protective compared to no preventative oral hygiene. Risk factor prioritisation aligned closely with epidemiological evidence, suggesting effective knowledge translation from research into clinical practice. Practitioners demonstrated an integrative approach to clinical reasoning, combining multiple factors holistically rather than additively. The study generated the first comprehensive data set of veterinary periodontitis risk assessment, providing evidence-based evaluations across specialisations and geographic regions for further analysis. The consistency of risk evaluations supports developing standardized assessment tools whilst highlighting the need for improved owner education to bridge the gap between professional knowledge and prevention outcomes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20413,"journal":{"name":"Preventive veterinary medicine","volume":"247 ","pages":"Article 106735"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145527847","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-01Epub Date: 2025-08-06DOI: 10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106636
J Manyweathers, J Rees, L Hayes, N Schembri, V J Brookes, M Hernandez-Jover
Biosecurity legislation in New South Wales is based upon a 'shared responsibility' framework with all stakeholders playing a role in protecting the pig industry. Government and industry bodies face challenges in supporting pig owners to adopt protective biosecurity measures, particularly within the industry's smallholder (non-commercial) sector. This study is part of a government-university project to improve biosecurity management planning and emergency animal disease preparedness among pig owners and producers in New South Wales. An evaluation of the impact of behaviour change strategies co-designed by industry and government to support smallholder pig producers/owners in strengthening biosecurity practices was conducted, using a baseline (186 respondents) and endline (77 respondents) comparison, with interviews adding depth of understanding about the impact of the interventions. Responses indicated a low level of exposure to the targeted engagement strategies overall, suggesting that distribution pathways used were ineffective in reaching the target audience. Those who reported exposure to the interventions were more likely (P < 0.05) to report a recent improvement on biosecurity practices than those who not exposed. Despite this positive impact, there was no significant difference between biosecurity practices of survey populations between the two surveys. Overall, the level of biosecurity implementation was low. The risk posed by poor biosecurity uptake, particularly by the non-commercial sectors, remains significant. Future engagement strategy design must use routes to engage all sectors of the industry more effectively - for example, by addressing interests, identities, and values, followed by comprehensive evaluation to achieve the most effective distribution of interventions within the non-commercial sector.
{"title":"Assessing the impact of behaviour change intervention strategies on the biosecurity knowledge, attitudes, and practices of pig producers in New South Wales, Australia.","authors":"J Manyweathers, J Rees, L Hayes, N Schembri, V J Brookes, M Hernandez-Jover","doi":"10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106636","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106636","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Biosecurity legislation in New South Wales is based upon a 'shared responsibility' framework with all stakeholders playing a role in protecting the pig industry. Government and industry bodies face challenges in supporting pig owners to adopt protective biosecurity measures, particularly within the industry's smallholder (non-commercial) sector. This study is part of a government-university project to improve biosecurity management planning and emergency animal disease preparedness among pig owners and producers in New South Wales. An evaluation of the impact of behaviour change strategies co-designed by industry and government to support smallholder pig producers/owners in strengthening biosecurity practices was conducted, using a baseline (186 respondents) and endline (77 respondents) comparison, with interviews adding depth of understanding about the impact of the interventions. Responses indicated a low level of exposure to the targeted engagement strategies overall, suggesting that distribution pathways used were ineffective in reaching the target audience. Those who reported exposure to the interventions were more likely (P < 0.05) to report a recent improvement on biosecurity practices than those who not exposed. Despite this positive impact, there was no significant difference between biosecurity practices of survey populations between the two surveys. Overall, the level of biosecurity implementation was low. The risk posed by poor biosecurity uptake, particularly by the non-commercial sectors, remains significant. Future engagement strategy design must use routes to engage all sectors of the industry more effectively - for example, by addressing interests, identities, and values, followed by comprehensive evaluation to achieve the most effective distribution of interventions within the non-commercial sector.</p>","PeriodicalId":20413,"journal":{"name":"Preventive veterinary medicine","volume":"244 ","pages":"106636"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144804617","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-01Epub Date: 2025-08-06DOI: 10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106650
Jason A Galvis, Cesar A Corzo, Gustavo Machado
The role of contaminated vehicles and the effectiveness of preventive strategies, such as cleaning and disinfection (C&D), in spreading infectious diseases among commercial swine farms under field conditions remains largely unexplored. This study aimed to reduce the risk of between-farm disease transmission through vehicle contacts by rerouting vehicles while considering C&D events and effectiveness. Vehicles were ranked based on specific criteria, including disease status of visited farms, vehicle contact network communities, C&D events, and shipment time efficiency. The rerouting system showed that, even when C&D was utterly inefficient, it reduced up to 42 % of the contacts between infected and uninfected farms via vehicle movements and 17 % of the total number of interactions between farms from distinct network communities. The rerouting efficacy increased with a C&D effectiveness of 100 %, reducing up to 100 % contacts between infected and uninfected farms and between farms from distinct network communities. Despite the potential benefit of preventing disease dissemination between the farms, the rerouting system increased by up to 81 % in C&D events and up to 54 % in distance traveled per vehicle. Ultimately, we have demonstrated that a rerouting vehicle system holds potential as an additional strategic tool for preventing and controlling the spread of diseases among farms through vehicle movements; however, given the additional time and effort required, its cost-benefit will depend on the severity of the disease being mitigated.
{"title":"Mitigating between-farm disease transmission through simulating vehicle rerouting and enhanced cleaning and disinfection protocols.","authors":"Jason A Galvis, Cesar A Corzo, Gustavo Machado","doi":"10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106650","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106650","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The role of contaminated vehicles and the effectiveness of preventive strategies, such as cleaning and disinfection (C&D), in spreading infectious diseases among commercial swine farms under field conditions remains largely unexplored. This study aimed to reduce the risk of between-farm disease transmission through vehicle contacts by rerouting vehicles while considering C&D events and effectiveness. Vehicles were ranked based on specific criteria, including disease status of visited farms, vehicle contact network communities, C&D events, and shipment time efficiency. The rerouting system showed that, even when C&D was utterly inefficient, it reduced up to 42 % of the contacts between infected and uninfected farms via vehicle movements and 17 % of the total number of interactions between farms from distinct network communities. The rerouting efficacy increased with a C&D effectiveness of 100 %, reducing up to 100 % contacts between infected and uninfected farms and between farms from distinct network communities. Despite the potential benefit of preventing disease dissemination between the farms, the rerouting system increased by up to 81 % in C&D events and up to 54 % in distance traveled per vehicle. Ultimately, we have demonstrated that a rerouting vehicle system holds potential as an additional strategic tool for preventing and controlling the spread of diseases among farms through vehicle movements; however, given the additional time and effort required, its cost-benefit will depend on the severity of the disease being mitigated.</p>","PeriodicalId":20413,"journal":{"name":"Preventive veterinary medicine","volume":"244 ","pages":"106650"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144817299","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-01DOI: 10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106724
William T.M. Leung , Guillaume Fournié , Phalla Miech , Ty Chhay , Arata Hidano , Hannah Holt , Sina Vor , Sokchea Huy , Son Pov , Sothyra Tum , Monidarin Chou , Yvonne C.F. Su , Gavin J.D. Smith , James W. Rudge
Across Southeast Asia, enhanced characterisation of pig value chains is needed to understand disease risk pathways and inform control and surveillance strategies. This study defined a typology of value chain actors in Cambodia and characterised their individual, ‘egocentric’, swine trade networks. Questionnaire-based cross-sectional surveys were conducted between May 2020 and April 2022 in four south-central provinces, sampling ‘egos’ via a multi-stage cluster design. We describe networks of 376 egos involving 4705 trade partners (‘alters’) and 669,363 pigs over six months.
Five producer types were identified: company-affiliated large breeding (n = 21) and growing farms (n = 68), independent breeding- (n = 104) and growing-oriented smallholders (n = 77), and boar service providers (BSP; n = 19). Three pig-exchanger types were also identified: ‘traders’ (n = 11), ‘middlemen’ (n = 12), and ‘butchers’ (n = 51).
Network analysis revealed BSP, middlemen, and large breeding farms as ‘brokers’ with many in- and outgoing trade links with producers, increasing their potential for pathogen introduction and onward transmission. Logistic regression supported this risk-profiling: compared to breeding-oriented smallholders, BSP had 8.1 times greater odds (95 % CI: 2.4–27.8) of high pig mortality risk (≥5 % of herd size), while large breeding farms had 6.0 times greater odds (95 % CI: 2.0–18.6) than large growing farms. Large breeding farms supplied pigs to all producer types including smallholders and BSPs (1 % of their aggregate supply), underscoring their dissemination potential. Middlemen and BSP connected otherwise weakly connected smallholders, highlighting opportunities for targeted disease-control. Slaughterhouses acted as network ‘sinks’, receiving pigs from smallholders and farms associated with different companies, making them key targets for disease surveillance. Large farms transported pigs the furthest distances (median >40 km; max >120 km) while smallholders mostly traded pigs locally (median <5 km; max 114 km).
This study demonstrates the value of egocentric sampling for livestock network characterisation and contributes to the limited knowledgebase on swine trade networks in Southeast Asia.
{"title":"Egocentric characterisation of the swine trade network in Cambodia and implications for disease surveillance and control","authors":"William T.M. Leung , Guillaume Fournié , Phalla Miech , Ty Chhay , Arata Hidano , Hannah Holt , Sina Vor , Sokchea Huy , Son Pov , Sothyra Tum , Monidarin Chou , Yvonne C.F. Su , Gavin J.D. Smith , James W. Rudge","doi":"10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106724","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106724","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Across Southeast Asia, enhanced characterisation of pig value chains is needed to understand disease risk pathways and inform control and surveillance strategies. This study defined a typology of value chain actors in Cambodia and characterised their individual, ‘egocentric’, swine trade networks. Questionnaire-based cross-sectional surveys were conducted between May 2020 and April 2022 in four south-central provinces, sampling ‘egos’ via a multi-stage cluster design. We describe networks of 376 egos involving 4705 trade partners (‘alters’) and 669,363 pigs over six months.</div><div>Five producer types were identified: company-affiliated large breeding (n = 21) and growing farms (n = 68), independent breeding- (n = 104) and growing-oriented smallholders (n = 77), and boar service providers (BSP; n = 19). Three pig-exchanger types were also identified: ‘traders’ (n = 11), ‘middlemen’ (n = 12), and ‘butchers’ (n = 51).</div><div>Network analysis revealed BSP, middlemen, and large breeding farms as ‘brokers’ with many in- and outgoing trade links with producers, increasing their potential for pathogen introduction and onward transmission. Logistic regression supported this risk-profiling: compared to breeding-oriented smallholders, BSP had 8.1 times greater odds (95 % CI: 2.4–27.8) of high pig mortality risk (≥5 % of herd size), while large breeding farms had 6.0 times greater odds (95 % CI: 2.0–18.6) than large growing farms. Large breeding farms supplied pigs to all producer types including smallholders and BSPs (1 % of their aggregate supply), underscoring their dissemination potential. Middlemen and BSP connected otherwise weakly connected smallholders, highlighting opportunities for targeted disease-control. Slaughterhouses acted as network ‘sinks’, receiving pigs from smallholders and farms associated with different companies, making them key targets for disease surveillance. Large farms transported pigs the furthest distances (median >40 km; max >120 km) while smallholders mostly traded pigs locally (median <5 km; max 114 km).</div><div>This study demonstrates the value of egocentric sampling for livestock network characterisation and contributes to the limited knowledgebase on swine trade networks in Southeast Asia.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20413,"journal":{"name":"Preventive veterinary medicine","volume":"247 ","pages":"Article 106724"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145782531","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-01Epub Date: 2025-07-31DOI: 10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106637
Anouk M B Veldhuis, Henriëtte Brouwer-Middelesch, Nienke Paarlberg, Angela Deterink, Thomas Dijkstra, Lourens Heres, Debora Smits, Thijs Poll, Sabine Stoelinga, Inge Santman-Berends
Since 2018, dairy farmers in the Netherlands have access to a census data-driven tool to monitor calf rearing quality, called "KalfOK". Participants (N ≈ 12,000; 95 % of the population of dairy farms) receive a quarterly farm report with a score ranging between 0 and 100 points. The score is built on points graded for the value of 12 indicators for youngstock rearing quality (e.g. 'percentage of live births'). This study aimed to validate KalfOK's performance to distinguish farms with either reduced or excellent calf health, by the assessment of 205 farm visits by independent veterinarians. In a second part of the study, KalfOK was evaluated by means of a questionnaire amongst 324 randomly selected dairy farmers. They were surveyed on their experiences with KalfOK and suggestions for improvement. Feasible suggestions were included in a scenario analysis to quantify the impact of these proposed changes on the performance of KalfOK. Results showed that KalfOK's sensitivity to distinguish farms with very high calf rearing quality is 83.3 % (95 % CI: 36-100), with a corresponding specificity of 63.8 % (95 % CI: 55-72). The sensitivity to detect farms with supposedly low calf rearing quality was estimated to be 83.3 % (95 % CI: 36-100), with corresponding specificity of 75.6 % (95 % CI: 67-83). Surveyed farmers made a number of suggestions for improvement of KalfOK related to alternative calculation of health indicators, such as adapting the temporal unit used for calculating indicators from quarterly to annually, and clemency in the event of perinatal mortality of twin/triplet calves. Scenario analyses revealed that such alternatives, perceived by farmers as improvement options, are not always in their interest as they either lead to lower scores or they reduce KalfOK's performance in distinguishing high and low performing farms. Results also revealed that about 50 % of the dairy farmers do not actively use the tool in their calf rearing management. This means that in order to improve uptake of KalfOK by farmers, substantial communication efforts should be made to change farmer's perceptions of KalfOK by emphasizing the tool's possibilities, limitations and added value.
{"title":"Evaluation of a data-driven tool to monitor youngstock rearing in dairy herds: Perception by its users and validation of improvement options.","authors":"Anouk M B Veldhuis, Henriëtte Brouwer-Middelesch, Nienke Paarlberg, Angela Deterink, Thomas Dijkstra, Lourens Heres, Debora Smits, Thijs Poll, Sabine Stoelinga, Inge Santman-Berends","doi":"10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106637","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106637","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Since 2018, dairy farmers in the Netherlands have access to a census data-driven tool to monitor calf rearing quality, called \"KalfOK\". Participants (N ≈ 12,000; 95 % of the population of dairy farms) receive a quarterly farm report with a score ranging between 0 and 100 points. The score is built on points graded for the value of 12 indicators for youngstock rearing quality (e.g. 'percentage of live births'). This study aimed to validate KalfOK's performance to distinguish farms with either reduced or excellent calf health, by the assessment of 205 farm visits by independent veterinarians. In a second part of the study, KalfOK was evaluated by means of a questionnaire amongst 324 randomly selected dairy farmers. They were surveyed on their experiences with KalfOK and suggestions for improvement. Feasible suggestions were included in a scenario analysis to quantify the impact of these proposed changes on the performance of KalfOK. Results showed that KalfOK's sensitivity to distinguish farms with very high calf rearing quality is 83.3 % (95 % CI: 36-100), with a corresponding specificity of 63.8 % (95 % CI: 55-72). The sensitivity to detect farms with supposedly low calf rearing quality was estimated to be 83.3 % (95 % CI: 36-100), with corresponding specificity of 75.6 % (95 % CI: 67-83). Surveyed farmers made a number of suggestions for improvement of KalfOK related to alternative calculation of health indicators, such as adapting the temporal unit used for calculating indicators from quarterly to annually, and clemency in the event of perinatal mortality of twin/triplet calves. Scenario analyses revealed that such alternatives, perceived by farmers as improvement options, are not always in their interest as they either lead to lower scores or they reduce KalfOK's performance in distinguishing high and low performing farms. Results also revealed that about 50 % of the dairy farmers do not actively use the tool in their calf rearing management. This means that in order to improve uptake of KalfOK by farmers, substantial communication efforts should be made to change farmer's perceptions of KalfOK by emphasizing the tool's possibilities, limitations and added value.</p>","PeriodicalId":20413,"journal":{"name":"Preventive veterinary medicine","volume":"244 ","pages":"106637"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144817276","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-10-31DOI: 10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106731
Marissa Hall, Andreia G. Arruda, Magnus R. Campler, Jacqueline M. Nolting
The risk of a foreign animal disease coming into the United States and threatening the swine industry necessitates the need for enhanced biosecurity plans to mitigate risks to premises. Although most biosecurity information is aimed and created for larger producers and isn’t appropriate for smaller producers, such as swine exhibitors. Swine exhibitors are a niche group who raise swine differently than large producers and travel extensively with their animals. This study sought out to; develop a SPS plan template adapted from the SPS framework that would be suitable for swine exhibitors’ biosecurity features; describe basic demographics and existence of biosecurity plan (and their features) for the target population; and investigate the association between having a previous biosecurity plan on site and demographic factors (number of pigs, type of housing, presence of other animal species in the premise and geographical region) as well as potential exposure to feral swine under their current housing conditions. These objectives were accomplished by attending twelve swine exhibitions within a year and a half to assist 161 individuals in the creation of personalized biosecurity plans for their premises, while obtaining additional study data. This study found no significant relationship between demographic factors and previously having a biosecurity plan, but that only 31.8 % of participants had previous biosecurity plans on their premise. However, swine exhibitors with existing biosecurity plans had more than 3-fold higher odds of acknowledging housing conditions with potential of feral swine contact compared to swine exhibitors without preexisting biosecurity plans. These findings indicate the need for additional efforts to assist swine exhibitors in creating biosecurity plans at shows across the United States.
{"title":"Biosecurity for all: Creating biosecurity plans for swine exhibitors based on secure pork supply templates","authors":"Marissa Hall, Andreia G. Arruda, Magnus R. Campler, Jacqueline M. Nolting","doi":"10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106731","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106731","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The risk of a foreign animal disease coming into the United States and threatening the swine industry necessitates the need for enhanced biosecurity plans to mitigate risks to premises. Although most biosecurity information is aimed and created for larger producers and isn’t appropriate for smaller producers, such as swine exhibitors. Swine exhibitors are a niche group who raise swine differently than large producers and travel extensively with their animals. This study sought out to; develop a SPS plan template adapted from the SPS framework that would be suitable for swine exhibitors’ biosecurity features; describe basic demographics and existence of biosecurity plan (and their features) for the target population; and investigate the association between having a previous biosecurity plan on site and demographic factors (number of pigs, type of housing, presence of other animal species in the premise and geographical region) as well as potential exposure to feral swine under their current housing conditions. These objectives were accomplished by attending twelve swine exhibitions within a year and a half to assist 161 individuals in the creation of personalized biosecurity plans for their premises, while obtaining additional study data. This study found no significant relationship between demographic factors and previously having a biosecurity plan, but that only 31.8 % of participants had previous biosecurity plans on their premise. However, swine exhibitors with existing biosecurity plans had more than 3-fold higher odds of acknowledging housing conditions with potential of feral swine contact compared to swine exhibitors without preexisting biosecurity plans. These findings indicate the need for additional efforts to assist swine exhibitors in creating biosecurity plans at shows across the United States.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20413,"journal":{"name":"Preventive veterinary medicine","volume":"246 ","pages":"Article 106731"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-10-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145445692","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-10-31DOI: 10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106734
Do Duy Hoa , Bui Van Dung , Nguyen Hoai Nam , Nguyen Duc Truong , Nguyen Van Phuong , Dan Ngo The , Tran Thi Duc Tam , Pham Thi Lan Huong , Ha Xuan Bo , Le Van Truong , Le Van Phan , Mai Thi Ngan
Infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) remains a major respiratory pathogen of economic concern in the poultry industry. This study investigated the farm-level prevalence of IBV and evaluated associated risk factors in northern Vietnam by a cross-sectional study from June 2022 to June 2024. A total of 69 poultry farms were randomly selected across nine provinces, and pooled tracheal swab samples were purposively collected for IBV detection using RT-qPCR. The overall IBV farm-level prevalence was 34.78 % (95 % CI:23.71–47.21 %). Although no statistically significant differences were found across provinces, production types, age groups, or flock sizes, IBV was detected in all subgroups, indicating widespread circulation of the virus. A total of 22 potential risk factors were initially assessed using univariate logistic regression. Of these, six variables with P < 0.1, including farm size, number of poultry houses, presence of multiple age groups, vaccination at day-old, frequency of disinfection before chick placement, and proximity to live bird markets and residential areas, were selected for multivariable logistic regression. The final multivariable model retained two independent predictors: performing more than one disinfection before chick placement (P = 0.035), and administration of a live IB vaccine at one day of age (P = 0.006), both of which were significantly associated with reduced the odds of IBV infection at the farm level. These findings suggest that strategic vaccination and careful calibration of disinfection protocols are critical to minimizing IBV transmission at the farm level.
{"title":"An epidemiological study on the prevalence and associated risk factors of infectious bronchitis virus in poultry farms in northern Vietnam","authors":"Do Duy Hoa , Bui Van Dung , Nguyen Hoai Nam , Nguyen Duc Truong , Nguyen Van Phuong , Dan Ngo The , Tran Thi Duc Tam , Pham Thi Lan Huong , Ha Xuan Bo , Le Van Truong , Le Van Phan , Mai Thi Ngan","doi":"10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106734","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106734","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) remains a major respiratory pathogen of economic concern in the poultry industry. This study investigated the farm-level prevalence of IBV and evaluated associated risk factors in northern Vietnam by a cross-sectional study from June 2022 to June 2024. A total of 69 poultry farms were randomly selected across nine provinces, and pooled tracheal swab samples were purposively collected for IBV detection using RT-qPCR. The overall IBV farm-level prevalence was 34.78 % (95 % CI:23.71–47.21 %). Although no statistically significant differences were found across provinces, production types, age groups, or flock sizes, IBV was detected in all subgroups, indicating widespread circulation of the virus. A total of 22 potential risk factors were initially assessed using univariate logistic regression. Of these, six variables with P < 0.1, including farm size, number of poultry houses, presence of multiple age groups, vaccination at day-old, frequency of disinfection before chick placement, and proximity to live bird markets and residential areas, were selected for multivariable logistic regression. The final multivariable model retained two independent predictors: performing more than one disinfection before chick placement (P = 0.035), and administration of a live IB vaccine at one day of age (P = 0.006), both of which were significantly associated with reduced the odds of IBV infection at the farm level. These findings suggest that strategic vaccination and careful calibration of disinfection protocols are critical to minimizing IBV transmission at the farm level.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20413,"journal":{"name":"Preventive veterinary medicine","volume":"246 ","pages":"Article 106734"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-10-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145445743","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-10-30DOI: 10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106733
Megan E. Rawlins , Adeyinka J. Adedeji , Victoria I. Ifende , Sandra I. Ijoma , Rebecca B. Atai , Joel Y. Atuman , Gambo Panzam , Haruna W. Gotom , Idris H. Adamu , Anas U. Musa , Isa M. Sani , Paul Adamu , Mauzu Rani , Ijeoma O. Nwagbo , Jakawa B. Gyes , Jamo Aliyu , Jolly A. Adole , Banenat B. Dogonyaro , Maryam Muhammad , Georgina Limon
Small ruminants are important to livelihoods in rural Nigeria and kept under sedentary and nomadic (transhumance) husbandry systems. Diseases such as sheep pox (SPP) and goat pox (GTP) result in significant financial losses and control is by vaccination. We developed and validated a mobile phone application (small ruminant’s disease vaccination and financial impact calculator: SR-DISVAXFIC) to estimate herd-level costs and vaccination benefits for small ruminant diseases in the field with real-time estimations. Previously developed production and economic models were adapted for application development and two validation stages undertaken: (i) SR-DISVAXFIC was presented and tested at a stakeholder meeting and (ii) veterinarians used SR-DISVAXFIC to collect data from sedentary and nomadic farmers who had experienced SPP and GTP outbreaks across five Northern Nigerian states (n = 291).
Median disease costs estimated were £ 301 (IQR: £163–516) for sedentary and £ 393 (IQR: £269–1029) for nomadic herds. Vaccination was financially beneficial, regardless of the percentage of government subsidisation; with a median herd-level benefit and median benefit-cost ratio of £ 272 (IQR: 149–475) and 7.00 (IQR: 5.04–16.74) for sedentary and £ 345 (IQR: £238–831) and 4.28 (IQR: 3.55–8.87) for nomadic herds. Differences between values estimated by SR-DISVAXFIC and previous stochastic modelling demonstrate the importance of gathering input parameters in the field to provide estimates. Majority (91.7 %) of participating farmers said SR-DISVAXFIC was useful to understand the financial impact of disease, and veterinarians found the application beneficial in explaining abstract concepts. SR-DISVAXFIC can be used to monitor trends in epidemiological parameters, costs, and financial impact of any small ruminant diseases.
{"title":"Development and validation of SR-DISVAXFIC: A mobile phone application for estimating the herd-level financial impact of small ruminant diseases and the potential benefits of vaccination in the field","authors":"Megan E. Rawlins , Adeyinka J. Adedeji , Victoria I. Ifende , Sandra I. Ijoma , Rebecca B. Atai , Joel Y. Atuman , Gambo Panzam , Haruna W. Gotom , Idris H. Adamu , Anas U. Musa , Isa M. Sani , Paul Adamu , Mauzu Rani , Ijeoma O. Nwagbo , Jakawa B. Gyes , Jamo Aliyu , Jolly A. Adole , Banenat B. Dogonyaro , Maryam Muhammad , Georgina Limon","doi":"10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106733","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106733","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Small ruminants are important to livelihoods in rural Nigeria and kept under sedentary and nomadic (transhumance) husbandry systems. Diseases such as sheep pox (SPP) and goat pox (GTP) result in significant financial losses and control is by vaccination. We developed and validated a mobile phone application (small ruminant’s disease vaccination and financial impact calculator: SR-DISVAXFIC) to estimate herd-level costs and vaccination benefits for small ruminant diseases in the field with real-time estimations. Previously developed production and economic models were adapted for application development and two validation stages undertaken: (i) SR-DISVAXFIC was presented and tested at a stakeholder meeting and (ii) veterinarians used SR-DISVAXFIC to collect data from sedentary and nomadic farmers who had experienced SPP and GTP outbreaks across five Northern Nigerian states (n = 291).</div><div>Median disease costs estimated were £ 301 (IQR: £163–516) for sedentary and £ 393 (IQR: £269–1029) for nomadic herds. Vaccination was financially beneficial, regardless of the percentage of government subsidisation; with a median herd-level benefit and median benefit-cost ratio of £ 272 (IQR: 149–475) and 7.00 (IQR: 5.04–16.74) for sedentary and £ 345 (IQR: £238–831) and 4.28 (IQR: 3.55–8.87) for nomadic herds. Differences between values estimated by SR-DISVAXFIC and previous stochastic modelling demonstrate the importance of gathering input parameters in the field to provide estimates. Majority (91.7 %) of participating farmers said SR-DISVAXFIC was useful to understand the financial impact of disease, and veterinarians found the application beneficial in explaining abstract concepts. SR-DISVAXFIC can be used to monitor trends in epidemiological parameters, costs, and financial impact of any small ruminant diseases.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20413,"journal":{"name":"Preventive veterinary medicine","volume":"246 ","pages":"Article 106733"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-10-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145459584","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-10-30DOI: 10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106732
Jorge Rivera-Gomis , Daniel Serrano-Jara , John Berezowski
Livestock farmers are the central decision makers for control of most endemic diseases, which makes them a vital stakeholder for the effective communication of information created from disease surveillance. We conducted a scoping review of the relevant scientific literature following PRISMA standards to identify the most common information channels or networks through which farmers receive information about animal health or disease. We found 50 articles that met our inclusion criteria (see methods section) by searching the electronic databases PubMed and Web of Science from 1960 – Feb 2025. Most of the articles (n = 34) came from the UK. Most of the studies targeted cattle farmers (n = 31), followed by sheep farmers (n = 19) and pig farmers (n = 10). Farmers were reported to receive information from a wide variety of sources. Veterinarians were reported to be the most important information source (n = 36). Other sources reported to be important were nutritionists and foot trimers (n = 1), other farmers (n = 1), farmer associations and schemes (n = 1) and the farm press (n = 1). Five studies reported that a combination of different sources was the most effective for communicating to farmers. From this study, we can conclude that veterinarians are the primary animal health/disease information source for farmers and should always be included when designing strategies to communicate health/disease related information to farmer. Other information sources are less important but should be included when communication is intended to reach as many farmers as possible.
{"title":"Scoping review on farmer information sources for animal health","authors":"Jorge Rivera-Gomis , Daniel Serrano-Jara , John Berezowski","doi":"10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106732","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106732","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Livestock farmers are the central decision makers for control of most endemic diseases, which makes them a vital stakeholder for the effective communication of information created from disease surveillance. We conducted a scoping review of the relevant scientific literature following PRISMA standards to identify the most common information channels or networks through which farmers receive information about animal health or disease. We found 50 articles that met our inclusion criteria (see methods section) by searching the electronic databases PubMed and Web of Science from 1960 – Feb 2025. Most of the articles (n = 34) came from the UK. Most of the studies targeted cattle farmers (n = 31), followed by sheep farmers (n = 19) and pig farmers (n = 10). Farmers were reported to receive information from a wide variety of sources. Veterinarians were reported to be the most important information source (n = 36). Other sources reported to be important were nutritionists and foot trimers (n = 1), other farmers (n = 1), farmer associations and schemes (n = 1) and the farm press (n = 1). Five studies reported that a combination of different sources was the most effective for communicating to farmers. From this study, we can conclude that veterinarians are the primary animal health/disease information source for farmers and should always be included when designing strategies to communicate health/disease related information to farmer. Other information sources are less important but should be included when communication is intended to reach as many farmers as possible.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20413,"journal":{"name":"Preventive veterinary medicine","volume":"246 ","pages":"Article 106732"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-10-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145459545","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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