Social media network analysis of Smallholder livestock farming communities in the United Kingdom.

The creation of targeted policies and actions to help small-scale livestock keepers and reduce the risks associated with disease outbreaks in this sector is hampered by the scarcity of information about smallholder farmers. Smallholders play a crucial part in disease outbreaks containment, hence there is a need for better monitoring methods that take this population into account while gathering data. According to the literature, these communities frequently use social media as a channel for communication and information exchange. In this study we conducted social network analysis of an influential smallholder within the UK and visualised the user follower network. Additionally, we performed influential user analysis, Twitter user categorisation, and community detection to uncover more insights into the livestock farming networks. Our findings reveal distinct communities within the smallholder farming sector and identify influential users with the potential to impact information dissemination and animal health practices. The study also highlights the role of community structure in surveillance and control of animal diseases and emphasises the need for further research to refine our understanding of these communities and their unique characteristics. This work contributes to the growing body of literature on small-scale livestock farming in the UK and underscores the importance of incorporating smallholder communities into disease surveillance and control efforts.

Spatio-temporal evaluation of social media as a tool for livestock disease surveillance.

Recent outbreaks of Avian Influenza across Europe have highlighted the potential for syndromic surveillance systems that consider other modes of data, namely social media. This study investigates the feasibility of using social media, primarily Twitter, to monitor illness outbreaks such as avian flu. Using temporal, geographical, and correlation analyses, we investigated the association between avian influenza tweets and officially verified cases in the United Kingdom in 2021 and 2022. Pearson correlation coefficient, bivariate Moran's I analysis and time series analysis, were among the methodologies used. The findings show a weak, statistically insignificant relationship between the number of tweets and confirmed cases in a temporal context, implying that relying simply on social media data for surveillance may be insufficient. The spatial analysis provided insights into the overlaps between confirmed cases and tweet locations, shedding light on regionally targeted interventions during outbreaks. Although social media can be useful for understanding public sentiment and concerns during outbreaks, it must be combined with traditional surveillance methods and official data sources for a more accurate and comprehensive approach. Improved data mining techniques and real-time analysis can improve outbreak detection and response even further. This study underscores the need of having a strong surveillance system in place to properly monitor and manage disease outbreaks and protect public health.