Modeling and support tools for studying disease spread in livestock using networks

The natural occurrence or intentional release of highly contagious agents of livestock disease can have serious consequences for any country’s agricultural economy. Successful control and management of animal disease outbreaks require that adequate response strategies be developed beforehand. Disease spread simulation models are being used by veterinary epidemiologists to evaluate strategies for the control of disease spread. These models enable decision-makers and emergency preparedness personnel to explore many different scenarios to determine the effects of control measures such as vaccination, and study the likely size, duration and cost of outbreaks. This paper presents an overview of livestock disease spread modeling using the North American Animal Disease Spread Model. We show results from the unique network contact spread module of the model, as well as a sensitivity analysis that helps expose the differences between different contact spread network models.