A modeling framework to describe the transmission of bluetongue virus within and between farms in Great Britain.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Recently much attention has been given to developing national-scale micro-simulation models for livestock diseases that can be used to predict spread and assess the impact of control measures. The focus of these models has been on directly transmitted infections with little attention given to vector-borne diseases such as bluetongue, a viral disease of ruminants transmitted by Culicoides biting midges. Yet BT has emerged over the past decade as one of the most important diseases of livestock.

Methodology/principal findings

We developed a stochastic, spatially-explicit, farm-level model to describe the spread of bluetongue virus (BTV) within and between farms. Transmission between farms was modeled by a generic kernel, which includes both animal and vector movement

SUBMITTER: Szmaragd C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2767512 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature