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An integrated modelling approach to assess the risk of wind-borne spread of foot-and-mouth disease virus from infected premises

Environmental Modeling & Assessment volume 11, pages 195–207 (2006)Cite this article

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a highly contagious disease of livestock that has serious consequences on livestock production and trade. In Australia, preparedness and planning includes the development of decision-support tools that would assist priority setting and resource management in the event of an incursion. In this paper we describe an integrated modelling approach using geographic information system (GIS) technology to assess the risk of wind-borne spread of FMD virus. The approach involves linking an intra-farm virus production model, a wind transport and dispersal model, and an exposure-risk model to identify and rank farms at risk of wind-borne infection of FMD. This will assist authorities by enabling resources for activities like surveillance and vaccination to be allocated on the basis of risk.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Epidemiology and Modelling Section, Office of the Chief Veterinary Officer, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, PO Box 858, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia

    M. G. Garner

  2. Bureau of Meteorology Research Centre, GPO Box 1289K, Melbourne, VIC, 3001, Australia

    G. D. Hess & X. Yang

Authors
  1. M. G. Garner
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  2. G. D. Hess
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  3. X. Yang
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Correspondence to M. G. Garner.

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Garner, M.G., Hess, G.D. & Yang, X. An integrated modelling approach to assess the risk of wind-borne spread of foot-and-mouth disease virus from infected premises. Environ Model Assess 11, 195–207 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10666-005-9023-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10666-005-9023-5

Keywords

  • foot-and-mouth disease (FMD)
  • wind spread
  • virus
  • aerosol
  • disease
  • model
  • risk
  • exposure assessment
  • decision support