Suchergebnisse

We present an exhaustive description of a stochastic, event-driven, hierarchical agent-based model designed to reproduce the infectious state of the cattle disease called Bovine Viral Diarrhea, for which the livestock-trade network is the main route of spreading. For the farm-node dynamics, it takes into account a vast number of breeding, infectious and animal movement mechanisms via a susceptible-infected-recovered type of dynamics with an additional permanently infectious class. The interaction between the farms is described by a supply-demand farm manager mechanism governing the network structure and dynamics. The model includes realistic disease and breeding dynamics and allows to study numerous mitigation strategies of present and past government regulations, including different testing and vaccination scenarios.

Although there is a long tradition of research on animal disease control, economic evaluation of control measures is rather limited in veterinary medicine. This may, on the one hand, be due to the different types of costs and refunds and the different people and organizations bearing them, such as animal holders, county, region, state or European Union, but it may also be due to the fact that economic analyses are both complex and time consuming. Only recently attention has turned towards economic analysis in animal disease control. Examples include situations, when decisions between different control measures must be taken, especially if alternatives to culling or compulsory vaccination are under discussion. To determine an optimal combination of control measures (strategy), a cost-benefit analysis should be performed. It is not necessary to take decisions only based on the financial impact, but it becomes possible to take economic aspects into account. To this end, the costs caused by the animal disease and the adopted control measures must be assessed. This article presents a brief overview of the methodological approaches used to retrospectively analyse the economic impact of two particular relevant diseases in Germany in the last few years: Bluetongue disease (BT) and Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE). ; Obgleich die Bekämpfung von Tierseuchen eine lange Tradition hat, gibt es verhältnismäßig wenige Studien, die sich mit den daraus resultierenden Kosten beschäftigen. Das liegt vermutlich zum einen daran, dass die Kosten bei unterschiedlichen Trägern entstehen, wie Tierhalter, Landkreis, Bundesland, Staat oder EU, und zum anderen daran, dass ökonomische Analysen komplex und langwierig sind. In den letzten Jahren wurden Tierseuchenbekämpfungsmaßnahmen jedoch immer wieder kritisch hinterfragt, insbesondere indem Alternativen zu den ergriffenen Maßnahmen wie der Tötung oder Impfung in die Diskussion einbezogen wurden. Um festzustellen, welche Kombination von Maßnahmen der Tierseuchenbekämpfung ("Strategie") am sinnvollsten ist, muss in der Regel eine Kosten-Nutzen-Analyse durchgeführt werden. Diese wiederum setzt eine Analyse der von der Tierseuche verursachten Kosten und der bisher ergriffenen Maßnahmen voraus. Dabei müssen Entscheidungen nicht ausschließlich nach Kostenaspekten getroffen werden, aber ihre Berücksichtigung wird ermöglicht. Dieser Artikel beinhaltet einen kurzen Überblick der methodischen Ansätze, die genutzt werden, um retrospektiv beispielhaft die ökonomischen Auswirkungen der Blauzungenkrankheit (BT) und der Bovinen Spongiformen Enzephalopathie (BSE) zu analysieren, zwei Tierseuchen, denen in Deutschland in den letzten Jahren eine erhebliche Bedeutung beigemessen wurde.

Assessing the risk of epidemic spread on networks and developing strategies for its containment is of tremendous practical importance, both due to direct effects in public health and its impact on economies. In this work we present the numerical results of a stochastic, event-driven, hierarchical agent-based model designed to reproduce the infectious dynamics of the cattle disease called Bovine Viral Diarrhea (BVD), for which the corresponding network of movements is the main route of spreading. For the farm-node dynamics, the model takes into account a vast number of breeding, infectious and animal movement mechanisms via a susceptible-infected-recovered (SIR) type of dynamics with an additional permanently infectious class. The interaction between the farms is described by a supply and demand farm manager mechanism governing the network structure and dynamics. We discuss the disease and breeding dynamics, study numerous mitigation strategies of present and past government regulations taking Germany as a case-study country and perform a sensitivity analysis on key parameters. We argue that the model, subject to calibration, has universal predictive potential, can be extended to diseases beyond BVD and demonstrate that appropriate measures can indeed lead to eradication regarding BVD. We further present the results of the time-series of the model and conduct a statistical analysis of and among the different mitigation strategies.

On 26 November 2000, the first autochthonous case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) was detected in Germany. Since then, a total of 413 BSE cases have been confirmed, resulting in the culling and destruction of 17 313 heads of cattle. In view of the possible risks for human and animal health, Germany has adopted EU regulations along with some additional requirements concerning active surveillance and response measures after detecting a BSE-positive animal. In this study, we used a stochastic model to estimate the costs incurred by the ensuing legislative amendments responding to BSE between November 2000 and December 2010. The total costs were estimated to range between 1847 and 2094 million Euros. They peaked in 2001 (about 394 million Euros) and declined since. About 54% of the costs (approximately 1000 million Euros) were incurred by the extension of the feed ban for animal protein to all farmed livestock. Active surveillance accounted for 21% (405 million Euros), the incineration of animal protein for 13% (249 million Euros) and the removal of specified risk material for 11% (225 million Euros). Only 1% of the costs was related to response measures after detecting a BSE-positive animal, including indemnity payments for culled cattle and confiscated carcasses at the slaughterhouse.

Bluetongue has become a Major animal health issue in the European Union. The member states and Switzerland have agreed on a vaccination strategy. Three different inactivated monovalent vaccines against bluetongue virus serotype 8 were selected for the compulsory vaccination program carried out in Germany in 2008. The efficacy of these vaccines was evaluated in a pilot study in sheep immunised under field conditions by clinical, virological and serological examination before and after experimental challenge infection with a BTV-8 field isolate. Antibody levels prior to challenge infection differed between the vaccinated groups, but all seroconverted animals were fully protected against clinical disease and virus replication. Only one vaccinated animal was very weakly positive in the real-time RT-PCR at day 10 after challenge infection, and one seronegative sheep in one of the vaccine groups was not protected. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Mit dem neuen EU-Recht wird ein Strategiewechsel bei der Bekämpfung der Blauzungenkrankheit (BT) – neue Bezeichnung "Infektion mit dem Virus der Blauzungenkrankheit (Serotypen 1–24)" (BTV) – vollzogen. Die EU-Mitgliedstaaten sind bei einem Ausbruch der Infektion mit BTV nicht mehr zur sofortigen Tilgung der Seuche verpflichtet, sondern können selbst darüber entscheiden, ob sie zur Tilgung der Seuche ein Tilgungsprogramm mit dem Ziel der Gewährung des Status "frei von einer Infektion mit BTV" durch die EU-Kommission durchführen wollen. Dieser Status ist mit Handelsvorteilen verbunden. Wegen der vektorgebundenen Übertragung der Seuche sind Tilgung und Statusvergabe nur auf Ebene von Gebieten möglich. Die Verbringungsregelungen sind weiterhin komplex. Die EU-Kommission gewährt den Status "frei von einer Infektion mit BTV" direkt denjenigen EU-Mitgliedstaaten bzw. Gebieten (Zonen), die vor Anwendungsbeginn des neuen EU-Rechts nicht unter Restriktionen wegen der Blauzungenkrankheit standen. In Deutschland haben 14 Bundesländer bzw. Zonen diesen Status bereits erhalten oder werden in Kürze offiziell gelistet werden. Aufgrund der amtlichen Feststellungen vereinzelter Infektionen mit BTV bei Rindern in Rheinland-Pfalz und im Saarland innerhalb der letzten 2 Jahre ist der Status für diese beiden Bundesländer sowie für die verbliebenen nicht BTV-freien Gebiete in Baden-Württemberg, Hessen und Nordrhein-Westfalen nur über ein Tilgungsprogramm zu erreichen.

Education in the use of economics applied to animal health (EAH) has been offered as part of various veterinary degree programmes since the 1980s. However, it has never been institutionalised in under-graduate curricula for animal health professionals and there is no systematic information on current teaching and education activities. An online survey was conducted in Europe to assess existing teaching programmes and the expectations of people using economics in animal health. The main conclusion is that there is insufficient EAH education on offer and there are disparate approaches to EAH-related curricula. Respondents expressed concerns regarding for example the limited education relating to assessing economic impacts of animal diseases, evaluation of intervention decisions, or using economics for general business management and understanding markets. Both public and private organisations predicted an increasing need for EAH in the future. The overarching implication is that EAH teaching methods and materials need to be developed and philosophically embedded into animal health curricula to ensure that future policy decisions regarding animal health are based on strong, well-founded knowledge of resource allocation. ; Depuis les années 1980, divers cursus vétérinaires comprennent des cours sur l'application des sciences économiques à la santé animale (ESA). Ce sujet n'a cependant jamais été institutionnalisé dans les premiers cycles des programmes à destination de professionnels de la santé animale et il n'y a pas d'information systématique sur les cours et les activités éducatives actuellement disponibles. Une enquête en ligne a été menée en Europe pour évaluer les programmes éducatifs existants et les attentes des personnes appliquant les sciences économiques à la santé animale. La principale conclusion est que l'offre éducative en ESA est insuffisante et que les approches des cursus incluant les ESA sont disparates. Les répondants s'inquiètent par exemple de la disponibilité limitée de l'offre éducative concernant l'évaluation des incidences économiques des maladies animales et celle des interventions, ou l'utilisation des sciences économiques dans la gestion générale des entreprises et la compréhension des marchés. Les organisations publiques et privées ont prédit l'importance croissante de l'utilisation des ESA dans l'avenir. La principale conséquence est la nécessité de développer les méthodes et outils d'enseignement des ESA et de les inclure de façon philosophique dans les curricula sur la santé animale afin de s'assurer que les décisions de politique futures au plan de la santé animale se fondent sur une connaissance solide et argumentée de la répartition des ressources. ; Die Lehre von der Tiergesundheitsökonomie wird seit den 1980ern als Bestandteil verschiedener Studiengänge im Bereich der Veterinärmedizin angeboten. Die Inhalte der Studienordnungen für die Bachelor-Studiengänge für Veterinärmedizin wurden jedoch nie vereinheitlicht, und es liegen keine systematischen Angaben zur aktuellen Lehre und Ausbildung vor. Zur Beurteilung des bestehenden Lehrbetriebs und der Erwartungen derer, die sich im Bereich der Tiergesundheit der Ökonomie bedienen, wurde eine europaweite Online-Umfrage durchgeführt. Dabei ergab sich im Wesentlichen, dass das Lehrangebot in der Tiergesundheitsökonomie nicht ausreichend ist und dass es disparate Ansätze für Studiengänge mit Bezug auf Tiergesundheitsökonomie gibt. Die Bedenken der Teilnehmenden galten z.B. dem knappen Lehrangebot im Bereich der Bewertung wirtschaftlicher Auswirkungen von Tierseuchen, der Evaluation von Interventionsentscheidungen sowie der Anwendung der Ökonomie auf die Allgemeine Betriebswirtschaftslehre und das Marktverständnis. Sowohl öffentliche als auch private Organisationen sagen voraus, dass die Anwendung der Tiergesundheitsökonomie zukünftig zunehmend an Bedeutung gewinnen wird. Die allgemeine Schlussfolgerung lautet, dass die Lehrmethoden und -materialien im Bereich Tiergesundheitsökonomie entwickelt und philosophisch in den entsprechenden Studienordnungen verankert werden müssen, um sicherzustellen, dass politische Entscheidungen in Bezug auf Tiergesundheit in Zukunft auf fundiertem Wissen um die Verteilung der Ressourcen basieren.

For endemic infections in cattle that are not regulated at the European Union level, such as bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV), European Member States have implemented control or eradication programs (CEP) tailored to their specific situations. Different methods are used to assign infection-free status in CEP; therefore, the confidence of freedom associated with the "free" status generated by different CEP are difficult to compare, creating problems for the safe trade of cattle between territories. Safe trade would be facilitated with an output-based framework that enables a transparent and standardized comparison of confidence of freedom for CEP across herds, regions, or countries. The current paper represents the first step toward development of such a framework by seeking to describe and qualitatively compare elements of CEP that contribute to confidence of freedom. For this work, BVDV was used as a case study. We qualitatively compared heterogeneous BVDV CEP in 6 European countries: Germany, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Scotland. Information about BVDV CEP that were in place in 2017 and factors influencing the risk of introduction and transmission of BVDV (the context) were collected using an existing tool, with modifications to collect information about aspects of control and context. For the 6 participating countries, we ranked all individual elements of the CEP and their contexts that could influence the probability that cattle from a herd categorized as BVDV-free are truly free from infection. Many differences in the context and design of BVDV CEP were found. As examples, CEP were either mandatory or voluntary, resulting in variation in risks from neighboring herds, and risk factors such as cattle density and the number of imported cattle varied greatly between territories. Differences were also found in both testing protocols and definitions of freedom from disease. The observed heterogeneity in both the context and CEP design will create difficulties when comparing different CEP in terms of confidence of freedom from infection. These results highlight the need for a standardized practical methodology to objectively and quantitatively determine confidence of freedom resulting from different CEP around the world.

International audience ; For endemic infections in cattle that are not regulated at the European Union level, such as bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV), European Member States have implemented control or eradication programs (CEP) tailored to their specific situations. Different methods are used to assign infection-free status in CEP; therefore, the confidence of freedom associated with the "free" status generated by different CEP are difficult to compare, creating problems for the safe trade of cattle between territories. Safe trade would be facilitated with an output-based framework that enables a transparent and standardized comparison of confidence of freedom for CEP across herds, regions, or countries. The current paper represents the first step toward development of such a framework by seeking to describe and qualitatively compare elements of CEP that contribute to confidence of freedom. For this work, BVDV was used as a case study. We qualitatively compared heterogeneous BVDV CEP in 6 European countries: Germany, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Scotland. Information about BVDV CEP that were in place in 2017 and factors influencing the risk of introduction and transmission of BVDV (the context) were collected using an existing tool, with modifications to collect information about aspects of control and context. For the 6 participating countries, we ranked all individual elements of the CEP and their contexts that could influence the probability that cattle from a herd categorized as BVDV-free are truly free from infection. Many differences in the context and design of BVDV CEP were found. As examples, CEP were either mandatory or voluntary, resulting in variation in risks from neighboring herds, and risk factors such as cattle density and the number of imported cattle varied greatly between territories. Differences were also found in both testing protocols and definitions of freedom from disease. The observed heterogeneity in both the context and CEP design will create difficulties when ...

Some European countries have successfully implemented country-specific control programs (CPs) for infectious cattle diseases that are not regulated or are regulated only to a limited extent at the European Union (EU) level. Examples of such diseases include bovine viral diarrhea (BVD), infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR), and Johne's disease (JD). The CPs vary between countries in the design and quality of collected data as well as methods used to detect infection and estimate prevalence or probability of freedom from infection. Differences in disease status between countries and non-standardized approaches to assess freedom from infection pose a risk for countries with CPs for non-regulated diseases as infected animals may influence the progress of the disease control or eradication program. The implementation of output-based standards allows estimation and comparison of the probability of freedom for non-regulated cattle diseases in European countries. The aim of the current study was to assess the existence and quality of data that could be used for estimating freedom from infection in European countries. The online data collection tool was sent to 32 countries participating in the SOUND control COST Action and was completed by 24 countries. Data on cattle demographics and data from CPs of IBR and BVD exist in more than 50% of the response countries. However, data describing risk factors and CP of JD was reported as existing in <25% of the countries. The overall quality of data in the sections on demographics and CPs of IBR and BVD were evaluated as "good", but risk factors and JD data were mostly evaluated as "fair." Data quality was considered less good mainly due to two quality criteria: accessibility and accuracy. The results of this study show that the quantity and quality of data about cattle populations and CPs are relatively similar in many surveyed countries. The outcome of this work provides an overview of the current situation in the European countries regarding data on EU non-regulated ...

Some European countries have successfully implemented country-specific control programs (CPs) for infectious cattle diseases that are not regulated or are regulated only to a limited extent at the European Union (EU) level. Examples of such diseases include bovine viral diarrhea (BVD), infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR), and Johne's disease (JD). The CPs vary between countries in the design and quality of collected data as well as methods used to detect infection and estimate prevalence or probability of freedom from infection. Differences in disease status between countries and non-standardized approaches to assess freedom from infection pose a risk for countries with CPs for non-regulated diseases as infected animals may influence the progress of the disease control or eradication program. The implementation of output-based standards allows estimation and comparison of the probability of freedom for non-regulated cattle diseases in European countries. The aim of the current study was to assess the existence and quality of data that could be used for estimating freedom from infection in European countries. The online data collection tool was sent to 32 countries participating in the SOUND control COST Action and was completed by 24 countries. Data on cattle demographics and data from CPs of IBR and BVD exist in more than 50% of the response countries. However, data describing risk factors and CP of JD was reported as existing in <25% of the countries. The overall quality of data in the sections on demographics and CPs of IBR and BVD were evaluated as "good", but risk factors and JD data were mostly evaluated as "fair." Data quality was considered less good mainly due to two quality criteria: accessibility and accuracy. The results of this study show that the quantity and quality of data about cattle populations and CPs are relatively similar in many surveyed countries. The outcome of this work provides an overview of the current situation in the European countries regarding data on EU non-regulated cattle diseases and will further assist in the development and implementation of output-based standards.

Some European countries have successfully implemented country-specific control programs (CPs) for infectious cattle diseases that are not regulated or are regulated only to a limited extent at the European Union (EU) level. Examples of such diseases include bovine viral diarrhea (BVD), infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR), and Johne's disease (JD). The CPs vary between countries in the design and quality of collected data as well as methods used to detect infection and estimate prevalence or probability of freedom from infection. Differences in disease status between countries and non-standardized approaches to assess freedom from infection pose a risk for countries with CPs for non-regulated diseases as infected animals may influence the progress of the disease control or eradication program. The implementation of output-based standards allows estimation and comparison of the probability of freedom for non-regulated cattle diseases in European countries. The aim of the current study was to assess the existence and quality of data that could be used for estimating freedom from infection in European countries. The online data collection tool was sent to 32 countries participating in the SOUND control COST Action and was completed by 24 countries. Data on cattle demographics and data from CPs of IBR and BVD exist in more than 50% of the response countries. However, data describing risk factors and CP of JD was reported as existing in <25% of the countries. The overall quality of data in the sections on demographics and CPs of IBR and BVD were evaluated as "good", but risk factors and JD data were mostly evaluated as "fair." Data quality was considered less good mainly due to two quality criteria: accessibility and accuracy. The results of this study show that the quantity and quality of data about cattle populations and CPs are relatively similar in many surveyed countries. The outcome of this work provides an overview of the current situation in the European countries regarding data on EU non-regulated cattle diseases and will further assist in the development and implementation of output-based standards.

Some European countries have successfully implemented country-specific control programs (CPs) for infectious cattle diseases that are not regulated or are regulated only to a limited extent at the European Union (EU) level. Examples of such diseases include bovine viral diarrhea (BVD), infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR), and Johne's disease (JD). The CPs vary between countries in the design and quality of collected data as well as methods used to detect infection and estimate prevalence or probability of freedom from infection. Differences in disease status between countries and non-standardized approaches to assess freedom from infection pose a risk for countries with CPs for non-regulated diseases as infected animals may influence the progress of the disease control or eradication program. The implementation of output-based standards allows estimation and comparison of the probability of freedom for non-regulated cattle diseases in European countries. The aim of the current study was to assess the existence and quality of data that could be used for estimating freedom from infection in European countries. The online data collection tool was sent to 32 countries participating in the SOUND control COST Action and was completed by 24 countries. Data on cattle demographics and data from CPs of IBR and BVD exist in more than 50% of the response countries. However, data describing risk factors and CP of JD was reported as existing in <25% of the countries. The overall quality of data in the sections on demographics and CPs of IBR and BVD were evaluated as "good", but risk factors and JD data were mostly evaluated as "fair." Data quality was considered less good mainly due to two quality criteria: accessibility and accuracy. The results of this study show that the quantity and quality of data about cattle populations and CPs are relatively similar in many surveyed countries. The outcome of this work provides an overview of the current situation in the European countries regarding data on EU non-regulated ...

Some European countries have successfully implemented country-specific control programs (CPs) for infectious cattle diseases that are not regulated or are regulated only to a limited extent at the European Union (EU) level. Examples of such diseases include bovine viral diarrhea (BVD), infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR), and Johne's disease (JD). The CPs vary between countries in the design and quality of collected data as well as methods used to detect infection and estimate prevalence or probability of freedom from infection. Differences in disease status between countries and non-standardized approaches to assess freedom from infection pose a risk for countries with CPs for non-regulated diseases as infected animals may influence the progress of the disease control or eradication program. The implementation of output-based standards allows estimation and comparison of the probability of freedom for non-regulated cattle diseases in European countries. The aim of the current study was to assess the existence and quality of data that could be used for estimating freedom from infection in European countries. The online data collection tool was sent to 32 countries participating in the SOUND control COST Action and was completed by 24 countries. Data on cattle demographics and data from CPs of IBR and BVD exist in more than 50% of the response countries. However, data describing risk factors and CP of JD was reported as existing in <25% of the countries. The overall quality of data in the sections on demographics and CPs of IBR and BVD were evaluated as "good", but risk factors and JD data were mostly evaluated as "fair." Data quality was considered less good mainly due to two quality criteria: accessibility and accuracy. The results of this study show that the quantity and quality of data about cattle populations and CPs are relatively similar in many surveyed countries. The outcome of this work provides an overview of the current situation in the European countries regarding data on EU non-regulated cattle diseases and will further assist in the development and implementation of output-based standards.