Pub Date : 2026-02-01Epub Date: 2025-10-22DOI: 10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106722
Sung Dae Park , Yeonsu Oh , Dae Sung Yoo
Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), caused by the Orthomyxoviridae family of RNA viruses, poses a serious threat to the global poultry industry, resulting in severe economic losses and raising public health concerns. In South Korea, HPAI outbreaks have recurred since the first case was confirmed in December 2003, with multiple virus subtypes (H5N1, H5N8, and H5N6) affecting domestic poultry farms. Among poultry species, domestic ducks play a crucial role in viral transmission due to their heightened susceptibility and asymptomatic shedding, increasing the risk of unnoticed outbreaks and environmental contamination. To mitigate the impact of HPAI, South Korea implemented the Duck Farming Restriction Policy, limiting duck farming activities during high-risk winter months (November to March). This study evaluates the preventive effectiveness of this policy using a Bayesian time-series modeling approach based on longitudinal outbreak data from 2003 to 2024. The analysis includes key epidemiological variables such as number of confirmed cases and outbreak durations. Our findings provide the first scientific evidence supporting the effectiveness of seasonal duck farming restrictions in reducing HPAI incidence. While global HPAI prevalence has increased significantly since 2020, South Korea has maintained stable or declining outbreak trends, suggesting that proactive control strategies play a crucial role in disease mitigation. These results emphasize the importance of adaptive biosecurity policies in controlling HPAI and offer valuable insights for future pandemic preparedness in the poultry sector.
{"title":"Combating Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in South Korea: A 15-year retrospective and forward-looking study","authors":"Sung Dae Park , Yeonsu Oh , Dae Sung Yoo","doi":"10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106722","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106722","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), caused by the Orthomyxoviridae family of RNA viruses, poses a serious threat to the global poultry industry, resulting in severe economic losses and raising public health concerns. In South Korea, HPAI outbreaks have recurred since the first case was confirmed in December 2003, with multiple virus subtypes (H5N1, H5N8, and H5N6) affecting domestic poultry farms. Among poultry species, domestic ducks play a crucial role in viral transmission due to their heightened susceptibility and asymptomatic shedding, increasing the risk of unnoticed outbreaks and environmental contamination. To mitigate the impact of HPAI, South Korea implemented the Duck Farming Restriction Policy, limiting duck farming activities during high-risk winter months (November to March). This study evaluates the preventive effectiveness of this policy using a Bayesian time-series modeling approach based on longitudinal outbreak data from 2003 to 2024. The analysis includes key epidemiological variables such as number of confirmed cases and outbreak durations. Our findings provide the first scientific evidence supporting the effectiveness of seasonal duck farming restrictions in reducing HPAI incidence. While global HPAI prevalence has increased significantly since 2020, South Korea has maintained stable or declining outbreak trends, suggesting that proactive control strategies play a crucial role in disease mitigation. These results emphasize the importance of adaptive biosecurity policies in controlling HPAI and offer valuable insights for future pandemic preparedness in the poultry sector.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20413,"journal":{"name":"Preventive veterinary medicine","volume":"247 ","pages":"Article 106722"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145757553","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 : 2026-02-01Epub Date: 2025-11-30DOI: 10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106753
Ning Chen , Dustin L. Pendell , Chia-Lin Chang
This study investigates the multifaceted impacts of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreaks on Taiwan’s shell egg market, with particular focus on price dynamics across the farm, wholesale, and retail levels. Taiwan’s location along the East Asian–Australasian Flyway, combined with high-density poultry farming and limited on-farm biosecurity, heightens its vulnerability to avian influenza (AI) transmission mediated by migratory waterfowl. Using a multi-threshold nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (MTNARDL) model and weekly data from 2015 to 2024, we analyze the effects of key factors, including feed costs, egg production rates, and HPAI outbreak scale, on egg prices. Our findings reveal long-run cointegration among these variables, with egg production rates emerging as the most significant determinant of farm-level prices. Even small reductions in production lead to substantial price increases, reflecting the inelastic nature of egg demand. We also identify threshold effects associated with HPAI outbreak severity: minor outbreaks slightly suppress farm prices, whereas large-scale outbreaks significantly raise retail prices, suggesting uneven price transmission across market tiers. Variance decomposition and impulse response function analyses further illustrate the persistent influence of severe outbreaks on retail prices, lasting up to eight weeks. These findings underscore the importance of early detection systems, enhanced biosecurity, and improved supply chain coordination to strengthen market resilience. Nonetheless, underreporting of outbreaks and limited data on low pathogenic AI cases pose ongoing challenges for effective surveillance and response.
{"title":"Price transmission and long-term effects of avian influenza on Taiwan’s egg market","authors":"Ning Chen , Dustin L. Pendell , Chia-Lin Chang","doi":"10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106753","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106753","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study investigates the multifaceted impacts of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreaks on Taiwan’s shell egg market, with particular focus on price dynamics across the farm, wholesale, and retail levels. Taiwan’s location along the East Asian–Australasian Flyway, combined with high-density poultry farming and limited on-farm biosecurity, heightens its vulnerability to avian influenza (AI) transmission mediated by migratory waterfowl. Using a multi-threshold nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (MTNARDL) model and weekly data from 2015 to 2024, we analyze the effects of key factors, including feed costs, egg production rates, and HPAI outbreak scale, on egg prices. Our findings reveal long-run cointegration among these variables, with egg production rates emerging as the most significant determinant of farm-level prices. Even small reductions in production lead to substantial price increases, reflecting the inelastic nature of egg demand. We also identify threshold effects associated with HPAI outbreak severity: minor outbreaks slightly suppress farm prices, whereas large-scale outbreaks significantly raise retail prices, suggesting uneven price transmission across market tiers. Variance decomposition and impulse response function analyses further illustrate the persistent influence of severe outbreaks on retail prices, lasting up to eight weeks. These findings underscore the importance of early detection systems, enhanced biosecurity, and improved supply chain coordination to strengthen market resilience. Nonetheless, underreporting of outbreaks and limited data on low pathogenic AI cases pose ongoing challenges for effective surveillance and response.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20413,"journal":{"name":"Preventive veterinary medicine","volume":"247 ","pages":"Article 106753"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145678456","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 : 2026-02-01Epub Date: 2025-12-19DOI: 10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106772
Luisa Magrin, Simone Dante, Barbara Contiero, Lorenzo Serva, Flaviana Gottardo, Giulio Cozzi
Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) remains the leading health and welfare challenge in intensively finished beef cattle. It is the primary cause of antimicrobial treatments and a major source of economic losses due to reduced performance, increased mortality, and high therapeutic costs. Early, non-invasive indicators of BRD are urgently needed to improve its timely detection and mitigate the negative impact on cattle health and farm economics. With a view to precision livestock farming, this study investigated whether the automatic recording of individual drinking behavior and water consumption could provide some useful indicators of early BRD detection during the critical adaptation period of beef cattle at the fattening unit. The study involved 92 Limousine cattle (64 bulls, 28 heifers) from six different batches imported from France between May 2021 and December 2022. An innovative electronic drinking station equipped with radio-frequency identification and flow sensors automatically recorded individual drinking events, water intake, and time spent drinking during the 4 weeks of adaptation at the fattening farm. During the same time period, individual cattle daily health checks were performed by the farm veterinarian, recording all therapeutic treatments for BRD. Forty-five of the 92 animals (49 %) received at least one treatment for BRD during the 4-week adaptation period. In most cases, the first treatment was administered within the first two weeks of arrival (11.2 ± 6.9 days). Animals treated two or more times for BRD exhibited persistently lower daily water intake compared with untreated animals (20.9 vs. 27.3 L/day, respectively), particularly during the first two weeks after arrival. Two days before treatment, affected animals showed a significant reduction in daily water intake compared with healthy ones, whereas daily drinking time and number of visits to the drinker remained unchanged. Risk analysis revealed that cattle with individual water intake below 20.8 L/day increased by over fourfold the odds ratio of developing BRD. Additionally, groups of beef cattle arriving during autumn–winter exhibited a higher BRD occurrence than those arriving in late spring or early summer. These outcomes encourage the use of automatic devices to monitor the individual drinking behaviour during the adaptation period, as they could help identify conditions in which animals may be at higher risk of developing respiratory diseases.
{"title":"When beef cattle drink less: Automated water intake monitoring as an early warning for respiratory disease during the adaptation period at the fattening unit","authors":"Luisa Magrin, Simone Dante, Barbara Contiero, Lorenzo Serva, Flaviana Gottardo, Giulio Cozzi","doi":"10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106772","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106772","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) remains the leading health and welfare challenge in intensively finished beef cattle. It is the primary cause of antimicrobial treatments and a major source of economic losses due to reduced performance, increased mortality, and high therapeutic costs. Early, non-invasive indicators of BRD are urgently needed to improve its timely detection and mitigate the negative impact on cattle health and farm economics. With a view to precision livestock farming, this study investigated whether the automatic recording of individual drinking behavior and water consumption could provide some useful indicators of early BRD detection during the critical adaptation period of beef cattle at the fattening unit. The study involved 92 Limousine cattle (64 bulls, 28 heifers) from six different batches imported from France between May 2021 and December 2022. An innovative electronic drinking station equipped with radio-frequency identification and flow sensors automatically recorded individual drinking events, water intake, and time spent drinking during the 4 weeks of adaptation at the fattening farm. During the same time period, individual cattle daily health checks were performed by the farm veterinarian, recording all therapeutic treatments for BRD. Forty-five of the 92 animals (49 %) received at least one treatment for BRD during the 4-week adaptation period. In most cases, the first treatment was administered within the first two weeks of arrival (11.2 ± 6.9 days). Animals treated two or more times for BRD exhibited persistently lower daily water intake compared with untreated animals (20.9 vs. 27.3 L/day, respectively), particularly during the first two weeks after arrival. Two days before treatment, affected animals showed a significant reduction in daily water intake compared with healthy ones, whereas daily drinking time and number of visits to the drinker remained unchanged. Risk analysis revealed that cattle with individual water intake below 20.8 L/day increased by over fourfold the odds ratio of developing BRD. Additionally, groups of beef cattle arriving during autumn–winter exhibited a higher BRD occurrence than those arriving in late spring or early summer. These outcomes encourage the use of automatic devices to monitor the individual drinking behaviour during the adaptation period, as they could help identify conditions in which animals may be at higher risk of developing respiratory diseases.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20413,"journal":{"name":"Preventive veterinary medicine","volume":"247 ","pages":"Article 106772"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145804784","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 : 2026-02-01Epub Date: 2025-12-12DOI: 10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106766
Honglin Yang , Quangang Xu , Chaojian Shen , Xinjie Wei , Fusheng Guo , Julian A. Drewe , Javier Guitian , Kachen Wongsathapornchai , John Edwards , Dirk Pfeiffer , Youming Wang , Hao Tang
The increasing threats of zoonotic and transboundary animal diseases highlight the urgent need for a skilled veterinary epidemiology workforce. Before 2010, China had limited capacity in this field. To address this gap, the China Field Epidemiology Training Program for Veterinarians (CFETPV) was established as a competency-based, in-service training program. This study assesses the contributions of CFETPV in enhancing epidemiology practice within animal health services, supporting alumni professional development, and enabling institutional integration in the government system.
A quantitative study design was employed, drawing on two alumni surveys conducted in 2019 and 2024, alongside routine program monitoring, administrative data and program progress briefs. Surveys assessed alumni’s application of epidemiological competencies in field study, teaching and policy engagement. Descriptive analyses summarised alumni profiles and contributions.
Since 2010, CFETPV has trained 265 professionals through its introductory course and graduated 153 from the two-year program across 31 provinces. Trainees completed 305 field practices during the training. After graduation, alumni conducted 730 epidemiological investigations and studies, contributed to 297 risk assessments, supported major disease control efforts and informed 98 national and provincial guidelines. In 2019, CFETPV became fully funded by the Chinese government, achieving full integration into the national veterinary service.
The successful integration was supported by an adaptive competency framework aligned with national priorities, strong alumni support, robust local trainer and mentor networks and consistent stakeholder engagement. These experiences offer insights for countries developing competency-based, in-service veterinary epidemiology training embedded within public veterinary services to strengthen animal health systems and One Health capacity.
{"title":"Building an institutionalised in-service field epidemiology capacity-building program: Experiences and lessons learned from the China Field Epidemiology Training Program for Veterinarians (CFETPV)","authors":"Honglin Yang , Quangang Xu , Chaojian Shen , Xinjie Wei , Fusheng Guo , Julian A. Drewe , Javier Guitian , Kachen Wongsathapornchai , John Edwards , Dirk Pfeiffer , Youming Wang , Hao Tang","doi":"10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106766","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106766","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The increasing threats of zoonotic and transboundary animal diseases highlight the urgent need for a skilled veterinary epidemiology workforce. Before 2010, China had limited capacity in this field. To address this gap, the China Field Epidemiology Training Program for Veterinarians (CFETPV) was established as a competency-based, in-service training program. This study assesses the contributions of CFETPV in enhancing epidemiology practice within animal health services, supporting alumni professional development, and enabling institutional integration in the government system.</div><div>A quantitative study design was employed, drawing on two alumni surveys conducted in 2019 and 2024, alongside routine program monitoring, administrative data and program progress briefs. Surveys assessed alumni’s application of epidemiological competencies in field study, teaching and policy engagement. Descriptive analyses summarised alumni profiles and contributions.</div><div>Since 2010, CFETPV has trained 265 professionals through its introductory course and graduated 153 from the two-year program across 31 provinces. Trainees completed 305 field practices during the training. After graduation, alumni conducted 730 epidemiological investigations and studies, contributed to 297 risk assessments, supported major disease control efforts and informed 98 national and provincial guidelines. In 2019, CFETPV became fully funded by the Chinese government, achieving full integration into the national veterinary service.</div><div>The successful integration was supported by an adaptive competency framework aligned with national priorities, strong alumni support, robust local trainer and mentor networks and consistent stakeholder engagement. These experiences offer insights for countries developing competency-based, in-service veterinary epidemiology training embedded within public veterinary services to strengthen animal health systems and One Health capacity.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20413,"journal":{"name":"Preventive veterinary medicine","volume":"247 ","pages":"Article 106766"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145768797","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 : 2026-02-01Epub 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":"2026-02-01","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 : 2026-01-01Epub 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":"2026-01-01","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 : 2026-01-01Epub Date: 2025-10-16DOI: 10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106714
Sangay Rinchen , Sithar Dorjee , Abigail Van Der Zwan , Rinzin Pem , Patricia Therese Campbell , Juan-Pablo Villanueva-Cabezas
Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is a globally neglected zoonotic disease. In several low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), limited bTB surveillance and technologies to minimise milk-borne zoonoses put dairy consumers at high risk of bTB infection. Surprisingly, LMIC consumers are seldom investigated, which represents a significant knowledge gap that undermines existing efforts to mitigate zoonotic tuberculosis. We conducted a cross-sectional study in Bhutan where bTB control measures are lacking and raw dairy is widely consumed to assess dairy consumers’ awareness and their knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) regarding bTB. We enrolled 347 participants at the eight milk outlets operating in the capital city to determine the level of awareness about bTB among this group and characterise their KAP towards bTB. Only 17.3 % of the participants had heard of bTB. Majority (90.1 %) of them knew there is treatment of tuberculosis (TB) in Bhutan and TB is curable (72.5 %). However, 70.1 % had misconception that infected people cannot appear healthy, and only 12 % knew bTB is zoonotic. Only 26 % and 24 % perceived milk and dairy products as high risk respectively compared to 56.5 % for meat and 85.8 % for consuming diseased animals. Over 80 % of participants reported consumption of milk and dairy products daily or weekly, 25 % consuming primarily raw or insufficiently boiled milk. Only a few consumers knew of bTB and its zoonotic potential (n = 42; 12 %, Confidence Interval 95 %: 8.9 %–16 %). Regarding health practices, 60 % had annual check-ups, 15.3 % had TB testing, 5.2 % had TB treatment, and vaccination status was uncertain. Unsupervised classification of the data using Generalised Low-Ranking Models revealed that most variability was explained by three demographic factors, a few attitudes towards bTB infection risk, and milk and dairy product consumption frequency. Our findings reveal a widespread lack of awareness and low-risk perception regarding milk-borne bTB among consumers. These results are consistent with findings in other LMICs and highlight that dairy consumers likely represent a blind spot in current efforts to mitigate the adverse effects of bTB in these settings.
{"title":"Dairy consumers' knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards zoonotic bovine tuberculosis in a country without veterinary and public health interventions: A cross-sectional study in Bhutan","authors":"Sangay Rinchen , Sithar Dorjee , Abigail Van Der Zwan , Rinzin Pem , Patricia Therese Campbell , Juan-Pablo Villanueva-Cabezas","doi":"10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106714","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106714","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is a globally neglected zoonotic disease. In several low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), limited bTB surveillance and technologies to minimise milk-borne zoonoses put dairy consumers at high risk of bTB infection. Surprisingly, LMIC consumers are seldom investigated, which represents a significant knowledge gap that undermines existing efforts to mitigate zoonotic tuberculosis. We conducted a cross-sectional study in Bhutan where bTB control measures are lacking and raw dairy is widely consumed to assess dairy consumers’ awareness and their knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) regarding bTB. We enrolled 347 participants at the eight milk outlets operating in the capital city to determine the level of awareness about bTB among this group and characterise their KAP towards bTB. Only 17.3 % of the participants had heard of bTB. Majority (90.1 %) of them knew there is treatment of tuberculosis (TB) in Bhutan and TB is curable (72.5 %). However, 70.1 % had misconception that infected people cannot appear healthy, and only 12 % knew bTB is zoonotic. Only 26 % and 24 % perceived milk and dairy products as high risk respectively compared to 56.5 % for meat and 85.8 % for consuming diseased animals. Over 80 % of participants reported consumption of milk and dairy products daily or weekly, 25 % consuming primarily raw or insufficiently boiled milk. Only a few consumers knew of bTB and its zoonotic potential <em>(n = 42; 12 %, Confidence Interval 95 %: 8.9 %–16 %).</em> Regarding health practices, 60 % had annual check-ups, 15.3 % had TB testing, 5.2 % had TB treatment, and vaccination status was uncertain. Unsupervised classification of the data using Generalised Low-Ranking Models revealed that most variability was explained by three demographic factors, a few attitudes towards bTB infection risk, and milk and dairy product consumption frequency. Our findings reveal a widespread lack of awareness and low-risk perception regarding milk-borne bTB among consumers. These results are consistent with findings in other LMICs and highlight that dairy consumers likely represent a <em>blind spot</em> in current efforts to mitigate the adverse effects of bTB in these settings.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20413,"journal":{"name":"Preventive veterinary medicine","volume":"246 ","pages":"Article 106714"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145364183","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 : 2026-01-01Epub Date: 2025-11-04DOI: 10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106738
Lena Fleischer , Jens Becker , Dolf Kümmerlen
Antimicrobials are frequently used in livestock, but imprudent antimicrobial use (AMU) has raised concerns about antimicrobial resistance and animal welfare. Recently, the Swiss government has established the national reporting system “Information System of Antimicrobials in Veterinary Medicine” (IS ABV) to monitor AMU. This study used IS ABV data to calculate AMU of finisher pigs and dairy cattle across 1500 farms using two different indicators. We calculated treatment incidence (TI, in defined daily doses [DDD] per animal and year), and number of treated animals per 1000 animals per day (NoTrA) at the population (_P) and at the farm (_F) level. For finisher pigs, at the population level, we estimated 0.74 DDD/finisher pig/year and 8.65 treated finisher pigs/1000 finisher pigs/day, with antimicrobials mainly prescribed on stock and administered parenterally. Median TI_F for finisher pigs was 0.05 DDD/finisher pig/year (1st quartile: 0.0; 3rd quartile: 0.54). For dairy cattle, at the population level, we estimated 6.09 DDD/cow/year and 13.23 treated cows/1000 cows/day, with most treatments being administered by intramammary route. Median TI_F for dairy cattle was 5.21 (2.73; 8.36). Penicillins were the most frequently used antimicrobial class for both production categories. This is the first study to calculate AMU using IS ABV data including prescriptions on stock in its calculations, underlining its potential for standardized data collection and comprehensive AMU estimation. While AMU in finisher pigs and dairy cattle aligns with Swiss guidelines for prudent use, concerns remain over prescriptions on stock due to insufficient recorded information. This highlights the need for improved data recording.
{"title":"Refining estimation of antimicrobial use at national level: A quantitative surveillance study processing data from the Swiss national reporting system","authors":"Lena Fleischer , Jens Becker , Dolf Kümmerlen","doi":"10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106738","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106738","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Antimicrobials are frequently used in livestock, but imprudent antimicrobial use (AMU) has raised concerns about antimicrobial resistance and animal welfare. Recently, the Swiss government has established the national reporting system “Information System of Antimicrobials in Veterinary Medicine” (IS ABV) to monitor AMU. This study used IS ABV data to calculate AMU of finisher pigs and dairy cattle across 1500 farms using two different indicators. We calculated treatment incidence (TI, in defined daily doses [DDD] per animal and year), and number of treated animals per 1000 animals per day (NoTrA) at the population (_P) and at the farm (_F) level. For finisher pigs, at the population level, we estimated 0.74 DDD/finisher pig/year and 8.65 treated finisher pigs/1000 finisher pigs/day, with antimicrobials mainly prescribed on stock and administered parenterally. Median TI_F for finisher pigs was 0.05 DDD/finisher pig/year (1st quartile: 0.0; 3rd quartile: 0.54). For dairy cattle, at the population level, we estimated 6.09 DDD/cow/year and 13.23 treated cows/1000 cows/day, with most treatments being administered by intramammary route. Median TI_F for dairy cattle was 5.21 (2.73; 8.36). Penicillins were the most frequently used antimicrobial class for both production categories. This is the first study to calculate AMU using IS ABV data including prescriptions on stock in its calculations, underlining its potential for standardized data collection and comprehensive AMU estimation. While AMU in finisher pigs and dairy cattle aligns with Swiss guidelines for prudent use, concerns remain over prescriptions on stock due to insufficient recorded information. This highlights the need for improved data recording.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20413,"journal":{"name":"Preventive veterinary medicine","volume":"246 ","pages":"Article 106738"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145466193","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 : 2026-01-01Epub Date: 2025-09-27DOI: 10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106698
Philip P. Mshelbwala , J. Scott Weese , Oyelola Adegboye , Roland Suluku , Ifeoluwapo Akanbi , Abdul G. Jalloh , Joseph A. Bunting-Graden , Mohammad Mahmudul Hassan , Charles E. Rupprecht
Dog vaccination is the most effective method for preventing rabies virus transmission and human deaths. However, in Sierra Leone, vaccination rates remain low, and the reasons for non-vaccination are not well understood. We analysed 2023 household survey data using a hierarchical Bayesian multinomial regression to provide insight into perceived barriers to canine rabies vaccination among owners of unvaccinated dogs. Our results indicated that of the 2558 dog-owning households interviewed, only 14 % (358) reported having fully vaccinated their dogs. Of the 2200 respondents with unvaccinated dogs, most (71.6 %) didn’t know how to access rabies vaccination services, 17.6 % cited cost, and 10.8 % believed it was unimportant. Posterior distribution of our model showed that urban residents had 91 % lower odds of believing rabies vaccination was unimportant compared to rural residents (OR = 0.11, 95 % CrI: 0.02–0.34). Similarly, individuals with tertiary education had 28 % lower odds of believing rabies vaccination was unimportant (OR = 0.72, 95 % CrI: 0.31–1.59), though this effect is uncertain despite an 80 % probability of being protective. Respondents in areas without veterinary services were more likely to cite cost as a barrier. Students were significantly less likely than civil servants to consider rabies vaccination unimportant (OR = 0.41, 95 % CrI: 0.17–0.95). In contrast, owners of free-roaming dogs were significantly twice as likely to believe that rabies vaccination was unimportant (OR = 2.41, 95 % CrI: 1.15–5.59). Those with partially confined dogs were significantly more likely to report not knowing how to access rabies vaccination services (OR = 1.99, 95 % CrI: 1.39–2.86). Compared to households citing cost, those in the Eastern Province were significantly less likely to report that the vaccine is unimportant. Respondents in the Western Area were significantly less likely to report cost as a barrier. In contrast, households in the Eastern were more likely to report cost as a barrier. These findings suggest that barriers to dog vaccination in Sierra Leone are shaped by a combination of informational, socioeconomic, and geographic factors. Improving public awareness, especially in rural areas, and expanding access to veterinary services could help address key obstacles. Tailored outreach strategies that consider education levels, occupation types, and local infrastructure are recommended to enhance vaccination uptake and support rabies prevention efforts.
{"title":"Factors associated with perceived barriers to canine rabies vaccination among owners of unvaccinated dogs in Sierra Leone","authors":"Philip P. Mshelbwala , J. Scott Weese , Oyelola Adegboye , Roland Suluku , Ifeoluwapo Akanbi , Abdul G. Jalloh , Joseph A. Bunting-Graden , Mohammad Mahmudul Hassan , Charles E. Rupprecht","doi":"10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106698","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106698","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Dog vaccination is the most effective method for preventing rabies virus transmission and human deaths. However, in Sierra Leone, vaccination rates remain low, and the reasons for non-vaccination are not well understood. We analysed 2023 household survey data using a hierarchical Bayesian multinomial regression to provide insight into perceived barriers to canine rabies vaccination among owners of unvaccinated dogs. Our results indicated that of the 2558 dog-owning households interviewed, only 14 % (358) reported having fully vaccinated their dogs. Of the 2200 respondents with unvaccinated dogs, most (71.6 %) didn’t know how to access rabies vaccination services, 17.6 % cited cost, and 10.8 % believed it was unimportant. Posterior distribution of our model showed that urban residents had 91 % lower odds of believing rabies vaccination was unimportant compared to rural residents (OR = 0.11, 95 % CrI: 0.02–0.34). Similarly, individuals with tertiary education had 28 % lower odds of believing rabies vaccination was unimportant (OR = 0.72, 95 % CrI: 0.31–1.59), though this effect is uncertain despite an 80 % probability of being protective. Respondents in areas without veterinary services were more likely to cite cost as a barrier. Students were significantly less likely than civil servants to consider rabies vaccination unimportant (OR = 0.41, 95 % CrI: 0.17–0.95). In contrast, owners of free-roaming dogs were significantly twice as likely to believe that rabies vaccination was unimportant (OR = 2.41, 95 % CrI: 1.15–5.59). Those with partially confined dogs were significantly more likely to report not knowing how to access rabies vaccination services (OR = 1.99, 95 % CrI: 1.39–2.86). Compared to households citing cost, those in the Eastern Province were significantly less likely to report that the vaccine is unimportant. Respondents in the Western Area were significantly less likely to report cost as a barrier. In contrast, households in the Eastern were more likely to report cost as a barrier. These findings suggest that barriers to dog vaccination in Sierra Leone are shaped by a combination of informational, socioeconomic, and geographic factors. Improving public awareness, especially in rural areas, and expanding access to veterinary services could help address key obstacles. Tailored outreach strategies that consider education levels, occupation types, and local infrastructure are recommended to enhance vaccination uptake and support rabies prevention efforts.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20413,"journal":{"name":"Preventive veterinary medicine","volume":"246 ","pages":"Article 106698"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145200882","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 : 2026-01-01Epub Date: 2025-10-10DOI: 10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106717
Yifan Song , Lore D’Anvers , Martin Julius Gote , Katleen Geerinckx , Sofie Piepers , Sarne De Vliegher , Ines Adriaens , Ben Aernouts
Assessing clinical mastitis (CM) severity plays a crucial role in mastitis control. The current method for assessing CM severity mainly considers clinical symptoms while a comprehensive approach is lacking. This study aims to explore CM severity in different dimensions. We collected data on 129 CM cases detected by automatic milking system (AMS) and confirmed by herdsman from three farms in Belgium (n = 2) and the Netherlands (n = 1). The CM severity was assessed in four dimensions: production (maximum relative milk loss for the inflamed and uninflamed quarters separately), somatic cell count (deviation from cow-level baseline), clinical (mild, moderate, severe clinical symptoms), and pathogen (cultures from the inflamed quarter). We explored the relations between these dimensions and examined the impact of farm, parity, and lactation stage (LS). Our findings revealed that severity dimensions were positively correlated, with correlations from 0.30 to 0.50. The strongest correlation between dimensions occurred between the production dimension in inflamed and uninflamed quarters. Severity in the somatic cell count dimension exhibited the stronger correlation with production severity for uninflamed quarters and pathogen severity compared to other dimensions, and the clinical dimension showed the strongest association with the production dimension for uninflamed quarters. Additionally, farm, parity, and LS were found to influence both the severity within certain dimensions and the interrelationships among them. These results suggest that, although CM severity scores across the four dimensions are positively correlated, clear variations exist. Combining the four scores could help to capture the full scope of CM by simultaneously assessing the severity of cases across these dimensions. Despite potential detection bias in the CM cases, our findings provide an opportunity to develop a novel CM severity scoring system that could optimize treatment decisions and promote sustainability of the dairy sector.
{"title":"Evaluating clinical mastitis in four dimensions: Definition and correlation analysis of the production, somatic cell count, clinical and pathogen severity","authors":"Yifan Song , Lore D’Anvers , Martin Julius Gote , Katleen Geerinckx , Sofie Piepers , Sarne De Vliegher , Ines Adriaens , Ben Aernouts","doi":"10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106717","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106717","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Assessing clinical mastitis (CM) severity plays a crucial role in mastitis control. The current method for assessing CM severity mainly considers clinical symptoms while a comprehensive approach is lacking. This study aims to explore CM severity in different dimensions. We collected data on 129 CM cases detected by automatic milking system (AMS) and confirmed by herdsman from three farms in Belgium (n = 2) and the Netherlands (n = 1). The CM severity was assessed in four dimensions: production (maximum relative milk loss for the inflamed and uninflamed quarters separately), somatic cell count (deviation from cow-level baseline), clinical (mild, moderate, severe clinical symptoms), and pathogen (cultures from the inflamed quarter). We explored the relations between these dimensions and examined the impact of farm, parity, and lactation stage (LS). Our findings revealed that severity dimensions were positively correlated, with correlations from 0.30 to 0.50. The strongest correlation between dimensions occurred between the production dimension in inflamed and uninflamed quarters. Severity in the somatic cell count dimension exhibited the stronger correlation with production severity for uninflamed quarters and pathogen severity compared to other dimensions, and the clinical dimension showed the strongest association with the production dimension for uninflamed quarters. Additionally, farm, parity, and LS were found to influence both the severity within certain dimensions and the interrelationships among them. These results suggest that, although CM severity scores across the four dimensions are positively correlated, clear variations exist. Combining the four scores could help to capture the full scope of CM by simultaneously assessing the severity of cases across these dimensions. Despite potential detection bias in the CM cases, our findings provide an opportunity to develop a novel CM severity scoring system that could optimize treatment decisions and promote sustainability of the dairy sector.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20413,"journal":{"name":"Preventive veterinary medicine","volume":"246 ","pages":"Article 106717"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145302764","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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