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SUMMARY:Collaborating across disciplines to model the elimination of an en
 demic livestock disease - Ewan Colman - University of Bristol
DTSTART:20231108T140000Z
DTEND:20231108T150000Z
UID:TALK207898@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Paula Smith
DESCRIPTION:Bovine viral diarrhoea is a non-fatal infectious disease found
  in cattle. It transmits through close contact\, and can spread to other f
 arms when cows are traded as livestock. While the illness is relatively mi
 ld for the cow\, it can lead to slower growth and lower milk production\, 
 resulting in financial losses for the farm – as such\, many countries ha
 ve implemented mandatory elimination schemes. England\, however\, has put 
 its hopes into farmers taking voluntary action to combat its spread. Many 
 English farms have become "BVD-Free"\, however\, total elimination is impe
 ded by the reluctance of some farmers to invest in the necessary biosecuri
 ty measures.  \n\nThe models I have developed to explore this problem are 
 the product of a 5-year collaboration with economists\, historians\, and s
 ocial scientists. Through a combination of interviews\, choice experiments
 \, and questionnaires\, we have developed an understanding of the conflict
 ing pressures influencing the biosecurity decisions made by farmers. I wil
 l discuss the challenges we faced in trying to use these qualitative findi
 ngs to inform a quantitative mechanistic model of disease transmission. Ou
 r analysis shows that England is unlikely to achieve elimination under its
  current strategy. Furthermore\, I hope that our effort to incorporate per
 spectives from multiple disciplines will be a useful case study for anyone
  with ideas to do something similar in the future.\n
LOCATION:Zoom
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