Accounting for farmers' control decisions in a model of pathogen spread through animal trade.

ABSTRACT: Accounting for individual decisions in mechanistic epidemiological models remains a challenge, especially for unregulated endemic animal diseases for which control is not compulsory. We propose a new integrative model by combining two sub-models. The first one for the dynamics of a livestock epidemic on a metapopulation network, grounded on demographic and animal trade data. The second one for farmers' behavior regarding the adoption of a control measure against the disease spread in their herd. The measure is specified as a protective vaccine with given economic implications, and the model is numerically studied through intensive simulations and sensitivity analyses. While each tested parameter of the model has an impact on the overall model behavior, the most important factor in farmers'

SUBMITTER: Cristancho Fajardo L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8100180 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature