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Analysis of the cattle movement network and its association with the risk of bovine tuberculosis at the farm level in Castilla y Leon, Spain

Investigation article published in Transboundary and Emerging Diseases

January 1st, 2019

Between-farm transmission of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) occurs mostly through fence-to-fence contact between neighboring farms, endemic infected wildlife or movement of infected animals. Unfortunately, bTB detection is frequently delayed and identification of the source of introduction is often difficult, particularly in endemic regions. Here, we characterized the cattle movement network of Castilla y Leon, a high bTB-prevalence (1.9% at the farm-level in 2015) region in Spain, over six years and analyzed the distribution of bTB to ultimately assess the likelihood of spatial and movement-mediated transmission. We analyzed movement and bTB data from 27,633 units located in the region, of which 87% were involved in ~1.4 million movements of ~8.8 million animals. Network-level connectivity was low, although a few highly connected units were identified. Up to 15% of the herds became bTB-positive at some point during the study, with the highest percentage found in bullfighting and beef herds. Although bTB-positive herds had a significantly higher degree and moved more cattle than negative herds, results of the k-test, a permutation-based procedure, suggested that positive farms were not significantly clustered in the movement network. Location was a likely risk factor as bTB-positive farms tended to be located within 5 km from each other. Results suggested that movements may be a source of bTB in cattle in Castilla y Leon, although local factors may be more influential in determining risk of disease at the farm level. The description of the movement network in Castilla y Leon may be valuable for bTB surveillance in Spain. Moreover, results are useful to assess the movement-associated risk for multiple diseases. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved




Pozo P., VanderWaal K., Grau A., de la Cruz ML., Nacar J., Bezos J., Perez AM., Minguez O. and Alvarez J..




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Analysis of the cattle movement network and its association with the risk of bovine tuberculosis at the farm level in Castilla y Leon, Spain

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Analysis of the cattle movement network and its association with the risk of bovine tuberculosis at the farm level in Castilla y Leon, Spain



Participants:

Universidad ComplutenseServicio de Micobacterias (MYC). Centro de Vigilancia Sanitaria Veterinaria (VISAVET). Universidad Complutense (UCM).

MAEVA SERVET, S.L.MAEVA SERVET, S.L..

University of MinnesotaDepartment of Veterinary Population Medicine. College of Veterinary Medicine. University of Minnesota (UMM).

Junta de Castilla y LeónServicio de Sanidad Animal. Junta de Castilla y León.

Universidad ComplutenseDepartamento de Sanidad Animal. Facultad de Veterinaria. Universidad Complutense (UCM).







Transboundary and Emerging Diseases
FACTOR YEAR Q
4.188 2019

NLMID: 101319538

PMID: 30270505

ISSN: 1865-1674



TITLE: Analysis of the cattle movement network and its association with the risk of bovine tuberculosis at the farm level in Castilla y Leon, Spain


JOURNAL: Transbound Emerg Dis


NUMERACIÓN: 66(1):327-340


AÑO: 2019


PUBLISHER: Wiley


AUTHORS: Pozo P., VanderWaal K., Grau A., de la Cruz ML., Nacar J., Bezos J., Perez AM., Minguez O. and Alvarez J..


First
Pilar Pozo Piñol
6th
Javier Bezos Garrido
7th
Andrés Maximiliano Pérez
Last
Julio Álvarez Sánchez

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/tbed.13025


CITE THIS PUBLICATION:

Pozo P., VanderWaal K., Grau A., de la Cruz ML., Nacar J., Bezos J., Perez AM., Minguez O. and Alvarez J. Analysis of the cattle movement network and its association with the risk of bovine tuberculosis at the farm level in Castilla y Leon, Spain. Transboundary and Emerging Diseases. 66(1):327-340. 2019. (A). ISSN: 1865-1674. DOI: 10.1111/tbed.13025


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