Predicting Infection Risk Of Airborne Foot-And-Mouth Disease

Main Category: Veterinary
Also Included In: Water - Air Quality / Agriculture;  Biology / Biochemistry
Article Date: 28 Aug 2008 - 3:00 PDT

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Foot-and-mouth is a highly contagious disease of global socio-economic importance. In countries considered disease-free the control and eradication of any outbreak is reliant upon prompt detection of infected premises.

Our paper presents a practical method for predicting airborne infections and prioritising farms for inspection in such a situation, with results applied a recent outbreak.

For such a system to be implemented on an operational timescale would require more accurate livestock data than is routinely held at present and we discuss the need for improvements in animal data management systems as highlighted by the official inquiry into the 2007 UK outbreak.

Journal of the Royal Society Interface

Journal of the Royal Society Interface is the Society's cross-disciplinary publication promoting research at the interface between the physical and life sciences. It offers rapidity, visibility and high-quality peer review and is ranked fifth in JCR's multidisciplinary category. The journal also incorporates Interface Focus, a peer-reviewed, themed supplement, each issue of which concentrates on a specific cross-disciplinary subject.

Journal of the Royal Society Interface