Achieving an optimal allocation of resources for animal health surveillance, intervention and disease mitigation.

The primary role of animal health economics is to inform decision-making by determining optimal investments for animal health. Animal health surveillance produces information to guide interventions. Consequently, investments in surveillance and intervention must be evaluated together. This article explores the different theoretical frameworks and methods developed to assess and optimise the spending of resources in surveillance and intervention and their technical interdependence. The authors present frameworks that define the relationship between health investment and losses due to disease, and the relationship between surveillance and intervention resources. Surveillance and intervention are usually considered as technical substitutes, since increased investments in surveillance reduce the level of intervention resources required to reach the same benefit. The authors also discuss approaches used to quantify externalities and non-monetary impacts. Finally, they describe common economic evaluation types, including optimisation, acceptability and least-cost studies.

L'économie de la santé animale a pour rôle primordial d'étayer la prise de décisions en définissant les meilleurs investissements en santé animale. Les activités de surveillance de la santé animale permettent de réunir les informations nécessaires pour guider les interventions. Par conséquent, il est nécessaire d'évaluer en même temps les investissements dans la surveillance et ceux dans les interventions. Les auteurs exposent les différents cadres théoriques et méthodologiques permettant d'évaluer et d'optimiser l'utilisation des ressources allouées à la surveillance et aux interventions et en font ressortir l'interdépendance technique. Les cadres présentés mettent en rapport les investissements dans la santé avec les pertes dues aux maladies et définissent les relations entre les ressources allouées à la surveillance et celles allouées aux interventions. La surveillance et les interventions sont généralement considérées comme des substitus tecniques, dans la mesure où toute augmentation des investissements dans la surveillance réduit d'autant le volume des ressources allouées aux interventions, pour un bénéfice équivalent. Les auteurs examinent également les approches utilisées pour quantifier les externalités ainsi que les impacts non monétaires. Enfin, ils décrivent plusieurs types d'évaluations économiques courantes, dont l'optimisation, l'acceptabilité et les analyses du moindre coût.

La economía de la sanidad animal tiene por función básica fundamentar la adopción de decisiones por el expediente de determinar cuáles son las inversiones óptimas desde el punto de vista zoosanitario. La vigilancia zoosanitaria genera información con la cual orientar las intervenciones. Por consiguiente, es necesario evaluar conjuntamente las inversiones en vigilancia y las destinadas a intervenciones. Los autores examinan los diferentes métodos y marcos teóricos que se han elaborado para evaluar y optimizar el gasto de recursos en labores de vigilancia y en intervenciones, así como su interdependencia técnica. En este sentido, presentan una serie de marcos que definen la relación entre inversiones en sanidad y pérdidas por enfermedades y la relación entre recursos para vigilancia y recursos para intervenciones. En general se considera que la vigilancia y las intervenciones son técnicamente interdependientes, toda vez que una mayor inversión en vigilancia reduce la cuantía de los recursos para intervenciones que hacen falta para obtener el mismo beneficio. Los autores también reflexionan sobre los métodos empleados para cuantificar los factores externos (externalidades) y las repercusiones no monetarias. Por último, describen los tipos más frecuentes de evaluación económica, como los de optimización, aceptabilidad o análisis del costo mínimo.

Cultural Practices Shaping Zoonotic Diseases Surveillance: The Case of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza and Thailand Native Chicken Farmers.

Effectiveness of current passive zoonotic disease surveillance systems is limited by the under-reporting of disease outbreaks in the domestic animal population. Evaluating the acceptability of passive surveillance and its economic, social and cultural determinants appears a critical step for improving it. A participatory rural appraisal was implemented in a rural subdistrict of Thailand. Focus group interviews were used to identify sanitary risks perceived by native chicken farmers and describe the structure of their value chain. Qualitative individual interviews with a large diversity of actors enabled to identify perceived costs and benefits associated with the reporting of HPAI suspicions to sanitary authorities. Besides, flows of information on HPAI suspected cases were assessed using network analysis, based on data collected through individual questionnaires. Results show that the presence of cockfighting activities in the area negatively affected the willingness of all chicken farmers and other actors to report suspected HPAI cases. The high financial and affective value of fighting cocks contradicted the HPAI control policy based on mass culling. However, the importance of product quality in the native chicken meat value chain and the free veterinary services and products delivered by veterinary officers had a positive impact on suspected case reporting. Besides, cockfighting practitioners had a significantly higher centrality than other actors in the information network and they facilitated the spatial diffusion of information. Social ties built in cockfighting activities and the shared purpose of protecting valuable cocks were at the basis of the diffusion of information and the informal collective management of diseases. Building bridges with this informal network would greatly improve the effectiveness of passive surveillance.

The Perceived Value of Passive Animal Health Surveillance: The Case of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in Vietnam.

Economic evaluations are critical for the assessment of the efficiency and sustainability of animal health surveillance systems and the improvement of their efficiency. Methods identifying and quantifying costs and benefits incurred by public and private actors of passive surveillance systems (i.e. actors of veterinary authorities and private actors who may report clinical signs) are needed. This study presents the evaluation of perceived costs and benefits of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) passive surveillance in Vietnam. Surveys based on participatory epidemiology methods were conducted in three provinces in Vietnam to collect data on costs and benefits resulting from the reporting of HPAI suspicions to veterinary authorities. A quantitative tool based on stated preference methods and participatory techniques was developed and applied to assess the non-monetary costs and benefits. The study showed that poultry farmers are facing several options regarding the management of HPAI suspicions, besides reporting the following: treatment, sale or destruction of animals. The option of reporting was associated with uncertain outcome and transaction costs. Besides, actors anticipated the release of health information to cause a drop of markets prices. This cost was relevant at all levels, including farmers, veterinary authorities and private actors of the upstream sector (feed, chicks and medicine supply). One benefit associated with passive surveillance was the intervention of public services to clean farms and the environment to limit the disease spread. Private actors of the poultry sector valued information on HPAI suspicions (perceived as a non-monetary benefit) which was mainly obtained from other private actors and media.

When private actors matter: Information-sharing network and surveillance of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in Vietnam.

The effectiveness of animal health surveillance systems depends on their capacity to gather sanitary information from the animal production sector. In order to assess this capacity we analyzed the flow of sanitary information regarding Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) suspicions in poultry in Vietnam. Participatory methods were applied to assess the type of actors and likelihood of information sharing between actors in case of HPAI suspicion in poultry. While the reporting of HPAI suspicions is mandatory, private actors had more access to information than public actors. Actors of the upstream sector (medicine and feed sellers) played a key role in the diffusion of information. The central role of these actors and the influence of the information flow on the adoption by poultry production stakeholders of behaviors limiting (e.g. prevention measures) or promoting disease transmission (e.g. increased animal movements) should be accounted for in the design of surveillance and control programs.