Risk Mapping of Influenza D Virus Occurrence in Ruminants and Swine in Togo Using a Spatial Multicriteria Decision Analysis Approach.

Influenza D virus (IDV) has been identified in several continents, with serological evidence for the virus in Africa. In order to improve the sensitivity and cost-benefit of IDV surveillance in Togo, risk maps were drawn using a spatial multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) and experts' opinion to evaluate the relevance of sampling areas used so far. Areas at highest risk of IDV occurrence were the main cattle markets. The maps were evaluated with previous field surveillance data collected in Togo between 2017 and 2019: 1216 sera from cattle, small ruminants, and swine were screened for antibodies to IDV by hemagglutination inhibition (HI) assays. While further samples collections are needed to validate the maps, the risk maps resulting from the spatial MCDA approach generated here highlight several priority areas for IDV circulation assessment.

Integration of production and financial models to analyse the financial impact of livestock diseases: a case study of Schmallenberg virus disease on British and French dairy farms.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to investigate and compare the financial impact of Schmallenberg disease for different dairy production types in the United Kingdom and France. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Integrated production and financial models for dairy cattle were developed and applied to Schmallenberg virus (SBV) disease in a British and French context. The five main production systems that prevail in these two countries were considered. Their respective gross margins measuring the holding's profitability were calculated based on public benchmarking, literature and expert opinion data. A partial budget analysis was performed within each production model to estimate the impact of SBV in the systems modelled. Two disease scenarios were simulated: low impact and high impact. RESULTS: The model gross margin obtained per cow space and year ranged from £1014 to £1484 for the UK and from £1037 to £1890 for France depending on the production system considered. In the UK, the net SBV disease costs in £/cow space/year for an average dairy farm with 100 milking spaces were estimated between £16.3 and £51.4 in the high-impact scenario and between £8.2 and £25.9 in the low-impact scenario. For France, the net SBV disease costs in £/cow space/year ranged from £19.6 to £48.6 in the high-impact scenario and £9.7 to £22.8 in the low-impact scenario, respectively. CONCLUSION: The study illustrates how the combination of production and financial models allows assessing disease impact taking into account differing management and husbandry practices and associated price structures in the dairy sector. It supports decision-making of farmers and veterinarians who are considering disease control measures as it provides an approach to estimate baseline disease impact in common dairy production systems in the UK and France.

Status report on education in the economics of animal health: results from a European survey.

Education on the use of economics applied to animal health (EAH) has been offered since the 1980s. However, it has never been institutionalized within veterinary curricula, and there is no systematic information on current teaching and education activities in Europe. Nevertheless, the need for economic skills in animal health has never been greater. Economics can add value to disease impact assessments; improve understanding of people's incentives to participate in animal health measures; and help refine resource allocation for public animal health budgets. The use of economics should improve animal health decision making. An online questionnaire was conducted in European countries to assess current and future needs and expectations of people using EAH. The main conclusion from the survey is that education in economics appears to be offered inconsistently in Europe, and information about the availability of training opportunities in this field is scarce. There is a lack of harmonization of EAH education and significant gaps exist in the veterinary curricula of many countries. Depending on whether respondents belonged to educational institutions, public bodies, or private organizations, they expressed concerns regarding the limited education on decision making and impact assessment for animal diseases or on the use of economics for general management. Both public and private organizations recognized the increasing importance of EAH in the future. This should motivate the development of teaching methods and materials that aim at developing the understanding of animal health problems for the benefit of students and professional veterinarians.

Application of integrated production and economic models to estimate the impact of Schmallenberg virus for various beef suckler production systems in France and the United Kingdom.

BACKGROUND: Schmallenberg virus (SBV) was first detected in November 2011 in Germany and then rapidly spread throughout Europe. In beef suckler farms, clinical signs are mainly associated with reproductive disorders, particularly in late gestation, and intransient and non-specific symptoms, namely diarrhea, inappetence and fever. The objectives of this study were to develop models that simulate the production of different beef suckler systems in the United Kingdom (UK) and France and to use these models to estimate, through partial budget analyses, the farm-level economic cost of SBV under two disease impact scenarios, namely high and low impact. The probability for a farm to be in the high or low scenario depends, among other, on the high, low or nil vectorial activity for a given period and location and on the period(s) of sensitivity of the animals to the disease. RESULTS: Under the high impact scenario, the estimated SBV impact ranged from 26€ to 43€ per cow per year in France and from 29€ to 36€ per cow per year in the UK. It was approximately half of this amount in the low impact scenario. These financial impacts represent 5 to 16% of the gross margin, depending on the country, impact scenario and livestock system considered. Most of the SBV impact originates from the costs of the steers and heifers not produced. Differences identified between the systems studied mainly stem from differences among the value of the steers or heifers sold: SBV impact is higher for British autumn calving systems compared to spring calving, and for French farms with calving and fattening activities compared to farms with only a single, annual calving activity. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows the usefulness of integrated production and economic models to accurately evaluate the costs of diseases and understand which factors have major impacts in the different systems. The models stand as a useful basis for animal health professionals when considering alternative disease control measures. They are also a farm accounting tool for estimating disease impact on differing production practices, which creates the necessary basis for cost-effectiveness analysis of intervention strategies, such as vaccination.

Application of integrated production and economic models to estimate the impact of Schmallenberg virus for various sheep production types in the UK and France.

OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed to estimate and compare the economic impact of Schmallenberg virus (SBV) in different sheep production holdings using partial budget and gross margin analyses in combination with production models. PARTICIPANTS: The sheep production types considered were lowland spring lambing, upland spring lambing and early lambing flocks in the UK, and grass lamb flocks of the Centre and West of France, extensive lambing flocks and dairy sheep flocks in France. METHODOLOGY: Two disease scenarios with distinct input parameters associated with reproductive problems were considered: low and high impact. Sensitivity analyses were performed for the most uncertain input parameters, and the models were run with all of the lowest and highest values to estimate the range of disease impact. RESULTS: The estimated net SBV disease cost per year and ewe for the UK was £19.65-£20.85 for the high impact scenario and £6.40-£6.58 for the low impact scenario. No major differences were observed between the different production types. For France, the net SBV disease cost per year and ewe for the meat sheep holdings was £15.59-£17.20 for the high impact scenario and £4.75-£5.26 for the low impact scenario. For the dairy sheep, the costs per year and ewe were £29.81 for the high impact scenario and £10.34 for the low impact scenario. CONCLUSIONS: The models represent a useful decision support tool for farmers and veterinarians who are facing decisions regarding disease control measures. They allow estimating disease impact on a farm accounting for differing production practices, which creates the necessary basis for cost effectiveness analysis of intervention strategies, such as vaccination.

Risk assessment of the introduction of Rift Valley fever from the Horn of Africa to Yemen via legal trade of small ruminants.

Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a mosquito-borne viral zoonosis of increasing global importance. Occurring since 1930 across Africa, it was detected for the first time in Saudi Arabia and Yemen in September 2000, leading to human deaths and major losses in livestock populations. Assuming the virus has not survived in Yemen or has been circulating at a low level, authors qualitatively assessed the likelihood of "re-introduction" of RVF into Yemen through the legal importation of small ruminants from the Horn of Africa. The overall probability of introduction was assessed very low to medium, increasing during festival periods and higher when considering a direct transmission exposure as compared to a vectorial transmission exposure. The uncertainty was considered to be medium underlining important gaps in information that need to be fulfilled in the region. Options to reduce the risk are proposed and discussed, including possible improvements of the current Yemeni quarantine system.