Epidemiologist publishes model on the impact of a regional foot-and-mouth disease outbreak
2014-12-09
(Press-News.org) MANHATTAN, Kansas -- A research project in the Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine presents the largest model to date for evaluating the impact and control of a potential outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in livestock.
Mike Sanderson, professor of epidemiology in the college's diagnostic medicine and pathobiology department, and Sara McReynolds, a former graduate student of Sanderson's, published the results of their research in the December issue of the journal Preventive Veterinary Medicine.
The researchers developed simulation models to assess the impact of livestock herd types and vaccination on foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks using the North American Animal Disease Spread Model. In this study, potential foot-and-mouth disease virus outbreaks in the central region of the U.S. were simulated to compare different vaccination strategies to a depopulation-only scenario. Their work received funding from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Foreign Animal Disease Zoonotic Center, which is now the Institute for Infectious Animal Diseases; the Kansas Department of Agriculture; and the U.S. Department of Agriculture through Iowa State University.
Based on data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service, a simulated population of 151,620 livestock operations characterized by latitude and longitude, production type and herd size was generated. Data for the study was generated by surveying livestock producers in Kansas and Colorado in order to determine the rate of contact between herd populations.
"The results of this study will provide information about the impacts of disease-control protocols, which may be useful in choosing the optimal control methods to be used by the livestock industry and animal health professionals to meet the goal of rapid effective control and eradication," Sanderson said. "The challenge behind this project is that you don't want to destroy the livestock industry in the process of trying to destroy the virus. You have to control the virus in a way that allows the industry to survive as effectively as possible."
Sanderson said the modeling study will support a subsequent project.
"We have more work underway in what is called a 'Secure Beef Supply Plan,' which is a project in collaboration with Iowa State University," Sanderson said. "Our modeling work also is being used here at Kansas State University for an economic model developed by Ted Schroeder, a university distinguished professor of livestock marketing in the agricultural economics department."
McReynolds graduated from Kansas State University with a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and Master of Public Health in 2008 and a doctorate in pathobiology in 2013. She is currently the assistant state veterinarian in North Dakota.
"Our results only give an indication of what could happen in the livestock industry when following specific control protocols," McReynolds said. "Livestock movement control and good biosecurity to limit disease transmission between farms will be very important. More research would be needed to better understand the optimal response to a foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in the central U.S as well as in livestock operations in other parts of the country."
INFORMATION:
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
2014-12-09
How do wealth and culture affect the international success of a new product, especially for those nations that have to wait? According to a new study in the Journal of International Marketing, national wealth and cultural characteristics such as individualism play a large part in citizens' enthusiasm and patience for new products.
"Even if they have to wait, consumers in wealthy countries are less hesitant to spend money on new products. Cultural factors such as individualism increase patience for adopting new products because of the high value placed on social uniqueness," ...
2014-12-09
Scientists at the University of Southampton have discovered variations in an enzyme belonging to the immune system that leaves individuals susceptible to Ankylosing Spondylitis.
The variation in ERAP1 can be detected by genetic testing which, if available, could lead to people becoming aware of the risk of the condition earlier.
Ankylosing Spondylitis is a chronic inflammatory disease which mainly affects joints in the spine. In severe cases, it can eventually cause complete fusion and rigidity of the spine, called "Bamboo spine". It tends to first develop in teenagers ...
2014-12-09
Glass is mysterious. It is a broad class of materials that extends well beyond the everyday window pane, but one thing that these disparate glasses seem to have in common is that they have nothing in common when it comes to their internal structures, especially in contrast with highly ordered and patterned crystals. Glassy systems can also range in scale: from things like metallic glasses, composed of atoms, to sandcastles, composed of grains of sand.
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have now shown an important commonality that seems to extend through the ...
2014-12-09
PITTSBURGH (December 9, 2014) ... Precious elements such as platinum work well as catalysts in chemical reactions, but require large amounts of metal and can be expensive. However, computational modeling below the nanoscale level may allow researchers to design more efficient and affordable catalysts from gold. These novel computer simulations to better explore how catalysts function at the nanoscale, led by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering, was featured as the cover article in the January issue of "Catalysis Science & Technology," ...
2014-12-09
When it comes to remembering where a tasty titbit was left, female great tit birds are miles ahead of their male counterparts. This ability might have evolved because the females come second when there's food to be shared, argue Anders Brodin and Utku Urhan of Lund University in Sweden. In Springer's journal Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, they present one of only a handful of cases in nature in which the female of a bird species has better spatial and learning abilities than the male.
Great tits (Parus major) are highly intelligent and quick learners. These common ...
2014-12-09
Children of the Information Age are inundated with written words streaming across smartphone, tablet, and laptop screens. A new Tel Aviv University study says that preschoolers should be encouraged to write at a young age -- even before they make their first step into a classroom.
A new study published in the Early Childhood Research Quarterly explains why early writing, preceding any formal education, plays an instrumental role in improving a child's literacy level, vocabulary, and fine motor skills. The research, conducted by Prof. Dorit Aram of TAU's Jaime and Joan ...
2014-12-09
Princeton University researchers have uncovered a previously unknown, and possibly substantial, source of the greenhouse gas methane to the Earth's atmosphere.
After testing a sample of abandoned oil and natural gas wells in northwestern Pennsylvania, the researchers found that many of the old wells leaked substantial quantities of methane. Because there are so many abandoned wells nationwide (a recent study from Stanford University concluded there were roughly 3 million abandoned wells in the United States) the researchers believe the overall contribution of leaking ...
2014-12-09
What drives some subsidiaries to strive for so much autonomy that they are actually harming the parent company? A new study in the Journal of International Marketing shows that these dysfunctional business relationships can be understood and improved using basic psychology.
"A subsidiary's desire for autonomy is psychological in nature. The desire is for more decision making authority in marketing decisions, and the ability to make these decisions without interference from headquarters. Subsidiary employees want to work more independently even if this means risking conflicts ...
2014-12-09
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - A laboratory at Purdue University provided a critical part of the world's first transistor in 1947 - the purified germanium semiconductor - and now researchers here are on the forefront of a new germanium milestone.
The team has created the first modern germanium circuit - a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) device - using germanium as the semiconductor instead of silicon.
"Bell Labs created the first transistor, but the semiconductor crystal made of purified germanium was provided by Purdue physicists," said Peide "Peter" Ye, a Purdue ...
2014-12-09
Many people have strong habits when it comes to shopping, preferring favorite stores and favorite brands. But a new study in the Journal of Marketing Research suggests that these same shoppers may have hidden habits that are hurting sales.
"Evidence suggests the existence of customer habits, beyond repeat purchases, that have serious implications for profits and firm performance. Whereas repeat purchase habits have been studied and shown to have a positive impact on sales, there are other common habits which have a notably negative effect on a company's bottom line," ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
[Press-News.org] Epidemiologist publishes model on the impact of a regional foot-and-mouth disease outbreak
