Enhancing the impact of regional health improvement programmes
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Research partners: Warwick University
Sponsors: BPEX
Duration: October 2010 – September 2013
Infectious diseases are a burden to pig welfare and the productivity of pig farms in Great Britain (GB). With DEFRA’s introduction of responsibility and cost sharing, the control of endemic infectious diseases such as Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) and Swine Dysentery (SD) will be primarily the responsibility of the pig industry. The aims of this study are to assist the pig industry in the understanding of how PRRS and SD persist in the national GB pig herd, and how this relates to introduction and persistence in individual herds.
Theoretical models will be developed and used to test the impact of control strategies targeted at reducing transmission of disease between herds. At each stage of the research program the industry will be consulted to ensure that the research is relevant and so provides maximum impact.
Mathematical models will be developed to understand persistence of PRRS and SD.
An existing model for PRRS on a single farm will be used as a basis for development of models of transmission and persistence of PRRS and SD on a network of farms. The structure of the links between the farms will be crucial in understanding the role of this connectivity in persistence of PRRS and SD. Once appropriate models of disease dynamics have been developed, they will be used to test the effectiveness of control interventions including changing the connections between farms, vaccination, full or partial depopulation and test and removal procedures, and the impact of co-ordination of these interventions between individual herds.
It is hoped that this greater understanding of PRRS and SD will allow the industry to better prepare and prevent epidemics, contributing to a restoration of the competitiveness of the English pig industry.
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04-Jan-2012