Costs and Benefits of Alternative Strategies to Control the Spread of Livestock-Acquired Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus From Pig Production.

BACKGROUND: Livestock-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (LA-MRSA) is a concern in healthcare and a political priority in some countries. OBJECTIVE: This study investigates the net societal costs of 2 alternative strategies for controlling LA-MRSA in Denmark: (1) eradicating LA-MRSA in all pig housing units, and (2) containing LA-MRSA within the units. METHODS: Benefits and costs are considered for affected economic sectors: healthcare, pig production, pig-related industries, and public administration. RESULTS: The cost to society of eradication is estimated at €2.3 to €2.5 billion (present value). Containment will cost €55 to €93 million. For both strategies, the main cost lies in primary pig production-for containment this is mainly due to establishing and operating anterooms and shower rooms, and for eradication it is due to production losses, loss of genetic resources, and costs of cleaning and disinfection. CONCLUSION: Compared with these costs, health economic benefits are moderate for both strategies. Containment is superior to eradication when measured by a benefit-cost ratio.

Assessment of the societal cost of Taenia solium in Angónia district, Mozambique.

BACKGROUND: The zoonotic parasite Taenia solium is endemic in Angónia district, Tete province, Mozambique, though the burden of the disease complex is unknown. METHODS: As part of two cross-sectional studies on human and porcine cysticercosis in the area, unique epidemiological and cost data were collected in Angónia district, Mozambique in 2007. These data provided the basis for the assessment of the societal cost of T. solium in the district, which estimates the impact of the disease on human and pig populations and includes both health and economic approaches in the analysis. RESULTS: Approximately 0.7% (95% Uncertainty Interval (UI), 0.4-0.9) and 0.4% (95% UI, 0.2-0.6) of the total population in the district was estimated to suffer from neurocysticercosis (NCC)-associated epilepsy and headache. The estimated average number of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) due to NCC-associated epilepsy and headache was 6 (95% UI, 4-8) per thousand persons per year. The total annual costs due to T. solium cysticercosis were estimated at 90,000 USD (95% UI, 39,483-201,463) of which 72% (95% UI, 45-91) were costs linked to human cysticercosis and 28% (95% UI, 9.5-55) to pig production losses. The annual economic burden per NCC-associated epilepsy case in the district amounted to 33 USD (95% UI, 10-76). CONCLUSIONS: In this highly endemic area of Mozambique a large number of individuals suffer from symptoms associated with NCC. Healthy years of life are lost and people are left living with disabilities. Infected pork poses a serious risk to the community and affects the economy of smallholder farmers. Cost for treatment and hospitalization of patients with NCC-associated epilepsy, and lack of productivity and inability of suffering patients to work, further hinder socioeconomic development. Feasible solutions framed within a country specific algorithm and stepwise approaches are needed to control the parasite in the country.

The economics of animal welfare.

This paper examines four examples of animal welfare issues, demonstrating the interactions between welfare and economic principles. Welfare issues associated with purebred companion animals are examined in terms of predicted inherited diseases, highlighting the power of supply and demand in perpetuating traits in pets that compromise their well-being. The livestock industry is presented from the point of view of pig production and the impact that a major disease (pleurisy) has on production and the animals' welfare. The authors investigate the conflicting and complementary demands of animal welfare and economic gains during the transport and slaughter of livestock and poultry. Finally, wildlife species are considered in terms of their prevalence as pests, and the different types of economic analysis that have been conducted to understand the losses caused by these organisms. Also included in this example are decisions made about cost effectiveness and opportunity costs, and regulatory and financial barriers to the development of humane control agents. In conclusion, animal welfare is illustrated as a central factor in the benefits that humans enjoy from the role played by animals in society. There are, however, tradeoffs between optimal animal welfare and meeting the needs of modern human society.

Les auteurs analysent les effets réciproques du bien-être animal et des principes de l'économie à travers quatre exemples. La problématique du bienêtre des animaux de compagnie de race est examinée en lien avec les maladies à prédisposition génétique, ce qui permet de souligner l'influence de l'offre et de la demande dans la perpétuation de traits génétiques particuliers à ces animaux, au péril de leur bien-être. Le secteur de l'élevage est examiné à travers l'exemple de la production porcine en étudiant l'impact d'une maladie majeure (pleurésie) sur la production et le bien-être des porcs. Les auteurs abordent ensuite les exigences antinomiques ou complémentaires du bien-être animal et de la rentabilité économique dans le domaine du transport et de l'abattage des animaux d'élevage et des volailles. Enfin, les espèces sauvages sont examinées du point de vue de leur rôle en tant que nuisibles, en exposant les différentes manières d'expliquer au moyen d'analyses économiques les pertes causées par les nuisibles. Cet exemple aborde également les décisions en matière de rentabilité et les coûts d'opportunité, ainsi que les obstacles réglementaires et financiers à l'utilisation d'agents pouvant servir à contrôler les maladies par des méthodes respectueuses du bien-être animal. En conclusion, le bien-être animal apparaît comme un facteur central des bénéfices que les humains retirent des animaux et de leur rôle dans la société. Il y a néanmoins des compromis à trouver entre l'optimisation du bien-être animal et les exigences d'une société moderne.

Apoyándose en cuatro ejemplos de bienestar animal, los autores ponen de manifiesto cuán imbricados están entre sí los temas de bienestar y los principios económicos. Ante todo examinan los problemas de bienestar que sufren los animales de compañía de pura raza por lo que respecta a sus previsibles enfermedades hereditarias, subrayando el poder de la ley de la oferta y la demanda para perpetuar en ellos una serie de rasgos que comprometen su bienestar. A continuación se detienen en la ganadería industrial, y más concretamente en la producción porcina y la influencia que ejerce una enfermedad importante (la pleuresía) en el bienestar de los animales y en la propia producción. Después exponen los imperativos antagónicos y complementarios que se plantean en clave de bienestar animal y de beneficio económico durante las operaciones de transporte y sacrificio de ganado y aves de corral. Por último, considerando las especies de animales salvajes desde el punto de vista de su prevalencia como plagas, exponen los distintos tipos de análisis económico que se han realizado para aprehender las pérdidas resultantes de las plagas. Valiéndose de este ejemplo examinan también las decisiones adoptadas en materia de rentabilidad y de costos de oportunidad, así como las barreras reglamentarias y económicas que dificultan un funcionamiento más compasivo de los agentes de control. El bienestar animal, en conclusión, aparece como un factor central de los beneficios que extrae el ser humano de la función que cumplen los animales en la sociedad. Sin embargo, es preciso hallar un compromiso entre los niveles óptimos de bienestar animal y la satisfacción de las necesidades de la sociedad humana moderna.

Evaluation of the Economic Impact of Streptococcus suis-Associated Disease.

The economic impact of Streptococcus suis-associated disease at farm level is well known by the producers, but the cost in a region or a country is more difficult to evaluate due to the lack of a centralized data system, the different incidences, and the control measures applied by each producer. In this chapter, we describe a method based on the information gathered through interviews with veterinary practitioners. A comprehensive questionnaire created specifically for the disease can help to conduct the interviews. The questions include information about the proportions of farms, batches and animals clinically affected, mortality, metaphylactic and therapeutic treatments, use of vaccines, and proportion of cases that are diagnosed at the laboratory. As the questionnaire is quite complex, the best option to obtain the data is send the questionnaire to the selected veterinarians to allow them to collect some data and make an interview with them some days later. The information allows to estimate the costs due to mortality, antimicrobial treatments, the use of autogenous vaccines, and analyses performed. Initially they are calculated per animal in each affected production phase, and later it can be extrapolated to estimate the annual cost per affected production unit and per country. The model does not consider indirect costs such as the cost as a zoonosis, the revenues forgone, or an increase of labor.

Economics of reducing response time to foreign-animal disease in the United States with point-of-care diagnostic tests.

BACKGROUND: As low probability events, United States producers, value chain actors, and veterinary services (VS) have limited experience with identifying foreign animal disease (FAD), which can allow FADs to spread undetected. Point-of-care (POC) diagnostic testing may help reduce the time from detecting an initial suspect case to implementing actionable interventions compared to the current approach of only using laboratory diagnostic testing for disease diagnosis and confirmation. To evaluate the value of the reduced response time, we compare the associated costs between the two diagnostic approaches while accounting for the uncertainty surrounding the size of a FAD event. METHODS: We apply a state-contingent approach (SCA) to model the uncertainty surrounding a FAD through alternative events, where the event defines the scale of outbreak size and its duration. We apply this approach within a cost-benefit framework (CBA) to determine the economic value from the two testing investment strategies to help explain the policymaker's response (and costs) to alternative FAD events while also considering the cost impacts on the producers from each event. RESULTS: Compared to the current laboratory strategy, a POC strategy that reduces response time by 0.5-days (swine, cattle scenarios) and 1.5-days (poultry scenario) may provide cost-saving to both producers and public response efforts. The benefit-cost analysis further suggests that despite the higher fixed costs to adopt the POC strategy, the swine and cattle sectors may benefit while the benefits may not be as pronounced in the poultry sector. DISCUSSION: POC testing that can reduce the time between detection and response during a FAD event may be a sound strategy for public expenditure and provide cost-savings for producers, especially when minimal fixed costs are incurred. However, to fully determine the value of POC testing, the consequences (costs) associated with potential actions if something goes wrong, (e.g. false positive results), should be considered in future studies.

Modern pig farming in the People's Republic of China: growth and veterinary challenges.

Cyclical oversupply and non-profitability situations have led to pig industry consolidations in the People's Republic of China, with many smaller farmers leaving the industry. In 2007, pork supply worsened due to outbreaks of 'high fever blue-ear disease', a complex disease issue that includes highly virulent porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome, porcine circovirus and classical swine fever. Best estimates suggest that 50 million pigs were affected. More recent natural disasters (earthquakes/freezing winters) have also limited pig production in some areas. Overall expansion of the Chinese breeding herd is now continuing at a good pace and is likely to be sufficient to supply the predicted 7% annual increase in demand for pork. High prices of feed ingredients (cereals and soybean) continue to create cost-of-production issues. Authorities have instigated many helpful measures over the past decade, including insurance for farm breeder stock, direct subsidies for farm expansions and breeding programmes, free supplies of some vaccines, and taxation exemptions. Specific challenges remaining include: the high levels of spread, persistence and on-farm impact of key virus infections on single-site farm systems; the variable titre and potency of some local vaccines; the low level of technical capacity in laboratories and the lack of training and expertise among farm staff; and the lack of a distinctive representative voice for pig farmers.

A qualitative assessment of the context and enabling environment for the control of Taenia solium infections in endemic settings.

BACKGROUND: Taenia solium (T. solium), is a zoonotic helminth causing three diseases namely; taeniasis (in humans), neurocysticercosis (NCC, in humans) and porcine cysticercosis (PCC, in pigs) and is one of the major foodborne diseases by burden. The success or failure of control options against this parasite in terms of reduced prevalence or incidence of the diseases may be attributed to the contextual factors which underpin the design, implementation, and evaluation of control programmes. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The study used a mixed method approach combining systematic literature review (SLR) and key informant interviews (KII). The SLR focused on studies which implemented T. solium control programmes and was used to identify the contextual factors and enabling environment relevant to successful inception, planning and implementation of the interventions. The SLR used a protocol pre-registered at the International prospective register of systematic reviews (PROSPERO) number CRD42019138107 and followed PRISMA guidelines on reporting of SLR. To further highlight the importance and interlinkage of these contextual factors, KII were conducted with researchers/implementers of the studies included in the SLR. The SLR identified 41 publications that had considerations of the contextual factors. They were grouped into efficacy (10), effectiveness (28) and scale up or implementation (3) research studies. The identified contextual factors included epidemiological, socioeconomic, cultural, geographical and environmental, service and organizational, historical and financial factors. The enabling environment was mainly defined by policy and strategies supporting T. solium control. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Failure to consider the contextual factors operating in target study sites was shown to later present challenges in project implementation and evaluation that negatively affected expected outcomes. This study highlights the importance of fully considering the various domains of the context and integrating these explicitly into the plan for implementation and evaluation of control programmes. Explicit reporting of these aspects in the resultant publication is also important to guide future work. The contextual factors highlighted in this study may be useful to guide future research and scale up of disease control programmes and demonstrates the importance of close multi-sectoral collaboration in a One Health approach.

Characteristics of the smallholder free-range pig production system in western Kenya.

Free-range pig farming is common amongst the small-scale farmers in western Kenya. In order to determine the characteristics of this type of production system, a cross-sectional questionnaire survey on farm characteristics and management was collected from 182 farmers in Busia District. The mean farm size was one acre, while the mean number of pigs per farm was 3.6. Pigs were mainly kept as a source of income (98%) and majority were of cross breed variety (64%). The production systems included farrow to weaner (12%), porker to finisher (36%), and mixed (46%). Sixty five percent (65%) of the pigs were tethered and housing was not provided in 61% of the farms. Most of the feeds were sourced locally. Lack of castration and delayed weaning of pigs was observed on 49% and 30% of the farms, respectively. The main production constraints included pig diseases (81%) and high cost or lack of feed (81%). Haematopinus suis infestations and worm infections were considered to be the most important diseases by 71% and 55% of the farmers, respectively. Farmers had moderate knowledge on parasitic disease diagnosis with 31% and 62% not having a history of either deworming or spraying pigs with acaricides, respectively. Marketing constraints were common amongst the farmers and included poor prices and inadequate market information. In conclusion, the production system was characterized as low-input with an income objective. Future research and development approaches should focus on the integration of free-range farmers into the country's market chains through access to extension services.

Will an incentive-compatible indemnity policy please stand up? Livestock producer willingness to self-protect.

This study evaluates the role of private market signals and conditional indemnity policies in livestock producer willingness to self-protect against disease and invest more in biosecurity. Our focus on Tier 1 swine diseases and U.S. hog producer decision-making is timely and informative for a multitude of current disease discussions. We find biosecurity effort adjusts to economic incentives in private, livestock markets and public, indemnity policies.

Pig trade networks through live pig markets in Guangdong Province, China.

This study used social network analysis to investigate the indirect contact network between counties through the movement of live pigs through four wholesale live pig markets in Guangdong Province, China. All 14,118 trade records for January and June 2016 were collected from the markets and the patterns of pig trade in these markets analysed. Maps were developed to show the movement pathways. Evaluating the network between source counties was the primary objective of this study. A 1-mode network was developed. Characteristics of the trading network were explored, and the degree, betweenness and closeness were calculated for each source county. Models were developed to compare the impacts of different disease control strategies on the potential magnitude of an epidemic spreading through this network. The results show that pigs from 151 counties were delivered to the four wholesale live pig markets in January and/or June 2016. More batches (truckloads of pigs sourced from one or more piggeries) were traded in these markets in January (8,001) than in June 2016 (6,117). The pigs were predominantly sourced from counties inside Guangdong Province (90%), along with counties in Hunan, Guangxi, Jiangxi, Fujian and Henan provinces. The major source counties (46 in total) contributed 94% of the total batches during the two-month study period. Pigs were sourced from piggeries located 10 to 1,417 km from the markets. The distribution of the nodes' degrees in both January and June indicates a free-scale network property, and the network in January had a higher clustering coefficient (0.54 vs. 0.39) and a shorter average pathway length (1.91 vs. 2.06) than that in June. The most connected counties of the network were in the central, northern and western regions of Guangdong Province. Compared with randomly removing counties from the network, eliminating counties with higher betweenness, degree or closeness resulted in a greater reduction of the magnitude of a potential epidemic. The findings of this study can be used to inform targeted control interventions for disease spread through this live pig market trade network in south China.

Benefit-cost analysis to estimate the payback time and the economic value of two Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae elimination methods in breeding herds.

Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae (Mhyo) is generally accepted to be the most common porcine respiratory pathogen worldwide causing big economical losses in swine production by affecting pig's downstream performance. The objective of this study was to develop a partial budget model to determine the payback period and economic value of two Mhyo elimination protocols. Retrospective data recorded from 2004 to 2017 from 70 breeding herds that implemented herd closure or whole-herd medication protocol targeting Mhyo elimination. Close out data was used to estimate differences in downstream performance between Mhyo-negative and positive flows. Assuming a 5000 sows breed-to-finish operation producing 135,870 weaned pigs and 125,000 finishing pigs/year, the total cost for implementing Mhyo elimination was $112,100 using the herd closure protocol, and $185,700 for the medication protocol. Statistically differences (p < 0.05) in downstream performance were observed for ADG and mortality, but not for feed conversion rate. The parameters that accounts for the greatest benefits were related to the improvement in ADG, savings in antibiotic medication in growing pigs and improvement in feed conversion rate. The benefit of Mhyo elimination was $877,375 per farm per year, or $7.00 per pig marketed. The estimated project value after 1 year was $616,121 for the herd closure considering a probability of success of 83%, and $323,177 for the medication protocol for 58% chance of success. The project value reached the break-even point when the cost per sow was $145.64 for the herd closure and $101.78 for the medication protocol. The payback period was 2 months after the start of marketing Mhyo-negative pigs for the herd closure, and 7 months for the medication protocol adjusted for the probability of success for each protocol. The protocols described here can be easily applied with a good success rate and showing that the benefits obtained are greater than the costs of project failure. Even if the farm stayed negative only a year, the economic benefits downstream are worth the investment. This information may help producers and veterinarians on decision-making process to conduct a Mhyo elimination protocol in their herds.

An economic assessment of pseudorabies (Aujeszky' disease) elimination on hog farms in China.

Hog pseudorabies (Aujeszky's disease) can incur serious losses for farm owners and even the entire hog industry by causing infertility, abortion, and stillbirth among sows, as well as diarrhoea, respiratory failure, and death among piglets. Pseudorabies virus could be prevented, controlled, and eliminated by clean-up at both farm and regional levels through a strict procedure of vaccination, quarantine, diagnosis, elimination of positive animals, and healthy animals nurturing. Using data from 63 large-scale hog farms from nine provinces (municipalities, autonomous regions) of China, we evaluated the economic consequences of hog pseudorabies clean-up in China's hog farms based on a partial budgeting method. By comparing large-scale hog farms that have performed pseudorabies clean-up with similar farms that have not, we analysed how clean-up affected farm profit and whether there existed sufficient economic incentives for farm owners to adopt pseudorabies control measures. Further, we examined how the economic consequences varied with factors such as clean-up history and farm size. The findings showed that, on average, clean-up adopters outperformed non-adopters by 8.02 million yuan per farm per year within the four years post clean-up adoption. Also, we found that the net profit changes attributable to pseudorabies clean-up increased over time and with farm size. Although we cannot extrapolate to all Chinese hog farms, these findings suggest that the earlier a hog farm adopted pseudorabies clean-up, the larger the economic benefits would be, especially for large-scale farms.

The monetary burden of cysticercosis in Mexico.

BACKGROUND: Taenia solium cysticercosis is a public health and agricultural problem in many low and middle-income countries where health education, sanitation, pig management practices and meat inspection infrastructure are insufficient. Cysticercosis affects both human and animal health and has important economic consequences. Very few studies have been conducted to evaluate the monetary burden of cysticercosis. This study aimed at estimating the 2015 costs associated with cysticercosis in humans and pigs in Mexico. METHODS: The monetary burden of human cysticercosis was estimated based on costs incurred by living with and treating epilepsy and severe chronic headaches associated with neurocysticercosis (NCC). The estimated cost of porcine cysticercosis took into consideration losses due to the reduction in the price of cysticercosis-infected animals. Epidemiologic and economic data were obtained from the published literature, government reports, and setting-specific questionnaires. Latin hypercube sampling methods were employed to sample the distributions of uncertain parameters and to estimate 95% credible regions (95% CRs). All results are reported in 2015 U.S.$. FINDINGS: The overall monetary burden associated with NCC morbidity was estimated at U.S.$215,775,056 (95% CR U.S.$109,309,560 -U.S.$361,924,224), with U.S.$436 (95% CR: U.S.$296 -U.S.$604) lost per patient. If loss of future years of income and productivity due to NCC-associated deaths was included, this value increased by U.S.$54.26 million, assuming that these individuals earned Mexico's median wage salary. An additional U.S.$19,507,171 (95% CR U.S.$5,734,782 -U.S.$35,913,487) was estimated to be lost due to porcine cysticercosis. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that T. solium cysticercosis results in considerable monetary losses to Mexico.

Towards incorporating spatial risk analysis for Salmonella sero-positivity into the Danish swine surveillance programme.

An increased incidence of pork-related human salmonellosis in Denmark led to the development of a national control programme for Salmonella in Danish swine herds in 1993. The aim of the programme has been met and now the issue of cost-effectiveness is receiving greater attention. An appropriate way to address this is to bring a risk-based focus to the programme. We describe a practical approach to risk-based surveillance through spatial risk assessment using serological and questionnaire data from 2280 herds in 1995. A mixed effects logistic regression model was fitted and both first- and second-order spatial properties of the random effects were investigated. We identified wet-feeding (OR: 0.64; 95% CI: 0.54-0.75) and SPF health status (OR: 0.65; 95% CI: 0.52-0.81) as protective factors for Salmonella sero-positivity. Purchasing feed (OR: 1.81; 95% CI: 1.61-2.04) was a risk factor. The west of the study area generally, and the north of Jutland in particular, experienced the greatest disease risk after controlling for the covariates. There was some evidence for spatial dependency between farms at distances of 6 km (95% CI: 2-35 km) on the Jutland peninsula. We conclude that when farm location details are analysed in conjunction with routinely recorded surveillance information (such as that collected by the Danish swine Salmonella control programme) and targeted industry surveys (such as those conducted by slaughterhouse co-operatives), our knowledge of the behaviour of disease in animal populations is enhanced and this provides a more informed framework for designing efficient, risk-based surveillance strategies.

Special welfare concerns in countries dependent on live animal trade: the real foreign animal disease emergency for Canada.

Any outbreak of an Office International des Epizooties trade-disrupting (previously List-A) disease, such as classical swine fever or foot and mouth disease in a previously disease-free region can have severe consequences for nonhuman animal welfare. In addition to animals destroyed for the purposes of disease eradication, certain preexisting trade patterns may result in welfare slaughter programs affecting many more animals than the disease eradication effort. Welfare slaughter is the destruction of healthy animals to prevent overcrowding on farms under movement restriction and as a consequence of loss of access to live animal export markets. Governments of European countries have anticipated welfare slaughter as part of their disease eradication preparedness. The concept of welfare slaughter and the resource implications thereof have not been included in current, published, livestock disease emergency-planning documents in Canada or the United States. Animal welfare, specifically the killing of healthy animals (not foreign animal disease eradication) has been the focus of public concern in recent disease-eradication efforts in Europe. North American organizations responsible for livestock exotic disease emergency preparedness need to expand their plans to include welfare slaughter.

Financial Impact of Foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks on pig farms in the Republic of Korea, 2014/2015.

The financial impact of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) that occurred in 180 piggeries (100 farrow-to-finish and 80 fattening farms) confirmed infected during the 2014/2015 epidemic in the Republic of Korea was estimated at the farm level. The median loss due to slaughtering of pigs prior to their expected market weights was US$ 71.8 (uncovered compensation-compensation loss) plus US$ 57.3 (foregone net gain) per pig. Median loss per farm was US$ 27,487 (55.6% of total loss) for compensation and US$ 15,925 (44.4%) for foregone net gain. The total loss per farm (median, 25th-75th percentile) was US$ 43,822 (9,767-115,893), which represented 49.4% (11.5-112.8) of the annual net gain of pig farms. The total financial loss in 180 FMD outbreak pig farms was US$ 25.2 million, which was nearly one-half of the control cost (US$ 58.3 million) spent by the Korean government on this epidemic. The findings in this study should help planning to help reduce the impact at the farm level in the Republic of Korea in the future.

A cost-benefit assessment of Salmonella-control strategies in pigs reared in the United Kingdom.

Pork and pork products are a major source of human salmonellosis in the United Kingdom (UK). Despite a number of surveillance programmes, the prevalence of Salmonella in the UK slaughter pig population remains over 20%. Here, we present the results of a Cost-Benefit Analysis comparing five on-farm control strategies (where the cost is the cost of implementation and the benefits are the financial savings for both the human health and pig industries). The interventions considered were: wet feed, organic acids in feed, vaccination, enhanced cleaning and disinfection and movement of outdoor breeding units. The data originate from published papers and recent UK studies. The effectiveness was assessed by adapting a previous risk assessment, originally developed for the European Food Safety Authority. Using this method, none of the intervention strategies produced a net cost-benefit. Our results suggest that the cost of implementation outweighed the savings for all interventions, even if the effectiveness could be improved. Therefore, to achieve a net cost-benefit it is essential to reduce the cost of interventions. Analyses concluded that large cost reductions (up to 96%) would be required. Use of organic acids required the smallest reduction in cost (22.7%) to achieve a net cost benefit. Uncertainty analysis suggested that a small net gain might be possible, for some of the intervention measures. But this would imply that the model greatly underestimated some key parameters, which was considered unlikely. Areas of key uncertainty were identified as the under-reporting factor (i.e. the proportion of community cases of Salmonella) and the source attribution factor (i.e. the proportion of human Salmonella cases attributable to pork products).

Understanding the virulence of Streptococcus suis: A veterinary, medical, and economic challenge.

Streptococcus suis is a major swine pathogen worldwide and causes considerable economic losses in the swine industry. S. suis is also an emerging zoonotic agent, mainly in Asia. In pigs and humans, S. suis can cause septicemia, pneumonia, endocarditis, arthritis, and meningitis with irreversible sequelae. Identification and characterization of the virulence factors produced by S. suis are major advances in the understanding of the pathogenesis of S. suis infections and has therefore opened promising avenues for vaccine development against this pathogen. This literature review aimed to update the current knowledge of the virulence mechanisms of S. suis and of the vaccination strategies tested until now.

Cystic echinococcosis in animals and humans of Maharashtra State, India.

Echinococcosis/hydatidosis which is a neglected parasitic zoonosis in the developing country like India. The study was conducted during April, 2010 to March, 2017 to determine the prevalence among slaughtered food animals, dogs and human. The samples were collected from the various slaughterhouses situated in different regions of Maharashtra state. A total of 9464 cattle (male), 3661 buffalo, 47189 sheep, 33350 goats and 13579 pigs were scientifically examined during PM inspection at different slaughterhouses. The study revealed that the prevalence of disease in cattle (3.00%) was highest followed by buffalo (2.05%), pig (1.28%), sheep (0.09%) and goat (0.01%), by PM examination. The average estimated economic losses (direct and indirect) due to hydatidosis were Rs. 8,65,83,566 in cattle, Rs. 44,33,93,900 in buffalo, Rs. 7,24,50,615 in sheep, Rs. 1,88,29,359 in goat and Rs. 5,20,49,081 in pigs. Dog faecal samples analyzed and showed the prevalence of echinococcosis as 4.34% (19/438) by sedimentation method and positive samples were confirmed by PCR assay, whereas in high risk human, 11.09% sera samples were found to be positive for echinococcosis. However, based on data collection for seven years, 58 patients were found to be surgically operated for hydatid cyst removal. The results of the present study indicated that cystic echinococcosis/hydatidosis is prevalent in both human and animal population in study areas which attracts serious attention from veterinary and public health authority to reduce economic burden and in designing appropriate strategy for prevention and control of disease.

Taenia solium from a community perspective: Preliminary costing data in the Katete and Sinda districts in Eastern Zambia.

The tapeworm Taenia solium is endemic in Zambia, however its socioeconomic cost is unknown. During a large-scale interventional study conducted in Zambia, baseline economic costs of human and porcine T. solium infections were measured. Questionnaire surveys were conducted within three neighbourhoods in Zambia's Eastern province in 2015 and 2016. A human health questionnaire, capturing costs of clinical symptoms commonly attributable to human cysticercosis and taeniasis, was conducted in randomly selected households (n = 267). All pig-keeping households were administered a pig socioeconomic questionnaire (n = 271) that captured pig demographic data, costs of pig-keeping, and economic losses from porcine cysticercosis. Of all respondents 62% had reportedly experienced at least one of the surveyed symptoms. Seizure-like episodes were reported by 12%, severe chronic headaches by 36%, and vision problems by 23% of respondents. These complaints resulted in 147 health care consultations and 17 hospitalizations in the five years preceding the study, and an estimated productivity loss of 608 working days per year. Of all pigs 69% were bought within villages. Nearly all adult pigs were sold to local traders, and tongue palpation for detection of cysticerci was commonly performed. Reportedly, 95% of pig owners could not sell tongue-positive pigs, while infected pigs fetched only 45% of the normal sale value. These preliminary costing data indicate that human and porcine T. solium infections substantially impact endemic areas of Eastern Zambia. A full socioeconomic burden assessment may enable improved T. solium management in sub-Saharan Africa.