Farm characteristics and farmer perceptions associated with bovine tuberculosis incidents in areas of emerging endemic spread

Abstract

DisclaimerThe University of Gloucestershire has obtained warranties from all depositors as to their title in the material deposited and as to their right to deposit such material.The University of Gloucestershire makes no representation or warranties of commercial utility, title, or fitness for a particular purpose or any other warranty, express or implied in respect of any material deposited.The University of Gloucestershire makes no representation that the use of the materials will not infringe any patent, copyright, trademark or other property or proprietary rights.The University of Gloucestershire accepts no liability for any infringement of intellectual property rights in any material deposited but will remove such material from public view pending investigation in the event of an allegation of any such infringement. Please cite this article as: Broughan<!-, J.M., Maye, D., Carmody, P., Brunton, L.A., Ashton, A., Wint, W., Alexander, N., Naylor, R., Ward, K., Goodchild, A.V., Hinchliffe, S., Eglin, R.D., Upton, P., Nicholson, R., Enticott, G., Farm characteristics and farmer perceptions associated with bovine tuberculosis incidents in areas of emerging endemic spread.Preventive Veterinary Medicine http://dx.doi.org/10. 1016/j.prevetmed.2016.05.007 This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. A case-control study was used to collect information a range of farm management strategies, farm characteristics, biosecurity measures, in addition to evaluating farmer attitudes and perceptions.Farm characteristics such as herd size, purchasing at a cattle markets, local incidence, a history of inconclusive reactors, fragmentation and concurrent disease were identified as risk factors.Results also suggests that efforts to advise farmers on bTB preventive measures need to focus on farmers without bTB or that alternative methods of engaging with farmers who have recently had a breakdown may need to be developed. 4 ABSTRACTWhile much is known about the risk factors for bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in herds located in high incidence areas, the drivers of bTB spread in areas of emerging endemicity are less well established. Epidemiological analysis and intensive social research identified natural and social risk factors that may prevent or encourage the spread of disease. These were investigated using a case-control study design to survey farmers in areas defined as recently having become endemic for bTB (from or after 2006). Telephone surveys were conducted for 113 farms with a recent history of a bTB incident where their officially tuberculosis free status had been withdrawn (OTFW) (cases) and 224 controls wit...

Assessing the effects of the first 2 years of industry‐led badger culling in England on the incidence of bovine tuberculosis in cattle in 2013–2015

“…The greater variation in incidence between buffer areas is not surprising as they are geographically smaller than the central areas and contain fewer herds. The positive influence of the proportion dairy variable and the proportion of farms with more than one fragment of land on the association between culling and OTF‐W incidence in both intervention buffer areas is not unexpected as both are factors that have been found to be positively correlated with incidence in previous studies (Broughan et al., 2016; Goodchild & Clifton‐Hadley, 2001; Porphyre, Stevenson, & McKenzie, 2008). The sensitivity analysis demonstrates that there is considerable uncertainty around the estimates that cannot currently be explained.…”

Dairy farmers’ decision‐making to implement biosecurity measures: A study of psychosocial factors

“…Different studies have identified several psychosocial factors in dairy farmers and veterinarians that might influence their decision on whether or not to implement biosecurity measures. Among these factors, it has been described that the attitude of farmers and veterinarians towards the implementation of biosecurity measures might be affected by the technical knowledge they have (Frössling & Nöremark, ; García & Coelho, ; Toma, Low, Vosough, Matthews, & Stott, ), the individual experiences they have lived (Broughan et al, ), the importance they can attribute to risks (Renault, Humblet, et al, ), and the benefits they can obtain from measures implemented (Ciaravino et al, ). Moreover, their behaviour towards the implementation of biosecurity measures has also been related to their perceived social pressure to apply these measures (i.e.…”

Effects of trading networks on the risk of bovine tuberculosis incidents on cattle farms in Great Britain

“…We expected that farms closest (i.e. 0-2 km) to the root farm would have the greatest effect on this risk as this would encompass potential contacts of cattle on shared boundaries and the risks from infected local wildlife [42]. However, the variable which best explained this risk was the proportion of farms with a bTB incident within a radius of 8 km.…”