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Disease emergence in livestock is a product of environment, epidemiology and economic forces. The environmental factors contributing to novel pathogen emergence in humans have been studied extensively, but the two-way relationship between farm microeconomics and outbreak risk has received comparably little attention. We introduce a game-theoretic model where farmers produce and sell two goods one of which (e.g. pigs, poultry) is susceptible to infection by a pathogen. We model market and epidemiological effects at both the individual farm level and the community level. We find that in the case of low demand elasticity for livestock meat, the presence of an animal pathogen causing production losses can lead to a bistable system where two outcomes are possible: (i) successful disease control or (ii) maintained disease circulation, where farmers slaughter their animals at a low rate, face substantial production losses, but maintain large herds because of the appeal of high meat prices. Our observations point to the potentially critical effect of price elasticity of demand for livestock products on the success or failure of livestock disease control policies. We show the potential epidemiological benefits of (i) policies aimed at stabilizing livestock product prices, (ii) subsidies for alternative agricultural activities during epidemics, and (iii) diversifying agricultural production and sources of proteins available to consumers.

The economic evaluation of health surveillance systems and of health information is a methodological challenge, as for information systems in general. Main present threads are considering cost-effectiveness solutions, minimizing costs for a given technically required output, or cost-benefit analysis, balancing costs with economic benefits of duly informed public interventions. The latter option, following a linear command-and-control perspective, implies considering a main causal link between information, decision, action, and health benefits. Yet, valuing information, taking into account its nature and multiple sources, the modalities of its processing cycle, from production to diffusion, decentralized use and gradual building of a shared information capital, constitutes a promising challenge. This work proposes an interdisciplinary insight on the value of health surveillance to get a renewed theoretical framework integrating information and informatics theory and information economics. The reflection is based on a typological approach of value, basically distinguishing between use and non-use values. Through this structured discussion, the main idea is to expand the boundaries of surveillance evaluation, to focus on changes and trends, on the dynamic and networked structure of information systems, on the contribution of diverse data, and on the added value of combining qualitative and quantitative information. Distancing itself from the command-and-control model, this reflection considers the behavioral fundaments of many health risks, as well as the decentralized, progressive and deliberative dimension of decision-making in risk management. The framework also draws on lessons learnt from recent applications within and outside of health sector, as in surveillance of antimicrobial resistance, inter-laboratory networks, the use of big data or web sources, the diffusion of technological products and large-scale financial risks. Finally, the paper poses the bases to think the challenge of a workable approach to economic evaluation of health surveillance through a better understanding of health information value. It aims to avoid over-simplifying the range of health information benefits across society while keeping evaluation within the boundaries of what may be ascribed to the assessed information system., SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

Pharmaceutical Research, 19 (9), ISSN:0724-8741, ISSN:1573-904X

This study aims to explore the farmers' perceptions of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) vaccination using a reflexive research method called Q methodology. A structured sample was composed of 46 farmers selected according to gender, farming experience, level of education, and production type. Statements relevant to the farmers' perceptions of and attitudes toward FMD vaccination, related to confidence, logistics, costs, and impacts of vaccination were developed. Results were analyzed by principal component analysis and factor analysis. The influence of demographics and characterized variables on the respondent's contribution to each factor was also tested. Regarding the different beliefs and behavior toward FMD vaccination, the common perceptions held by Vietnamese cattle and pig farmers were divided into three discourses named Confidence (24 subjects), Belief (12 subjects), and Challenge (6 subjects). The identified discourses represented 57.3% of the variances. Consensus points were found, such as the feeling of being more secure after FMD vaccination campaigns; the fact that farmers take vaccination decisions themselves without being influenced by other stakeholders; the opinion that FMD vaccination is cheaper than the costs of treating a sick animal; and that vaccines provided by governmental authorities are of high quality. Part of the studied population did not consider vaccination to be the first choice strategy in prevention. This raises the question of how to improve the active participation of farmers in the FMD vaccine strategy. Taking into consideration farmers' perceptions can help to implement feasible vaccination strategies at the local level.

International audience; Information about infectious diseases at the global level relies on effective, efficient and sustainable national and international surveillance systems. Surveillance systems need to be regularly evaluated to ensure their performance, the quality of the data and information provided, as well as to allocate resources efficiently. Currently available frameworks for evaluation of surveillance systems in animal or human health often treat technical, process and socio-economic aspects separately instead of integrating them. The surveillance evaluation (EVA) tool, a support tool for the evaluation of animal health surveillance systems, was developed to provide guidance for integrated evaluation of animal health surveillance including economic evaluation. The tool was developed by international experts in surveillance and evaluation in an iterative process of development, testing and revision taking into account existing frameworks and guidance, scientific literature and expert opinion. The EVA tool encompasses a web interface for users to develop an evaluation plan, a Wiki classroom to provide theoretical information on all required concepts and a generic evaluation work plan to facilitate implementation and reporting of outputs to decision makers. The tool was tested by planning and conducting epidemiological and economic evaluations of surveillance for classical and African swine fever, bovine virus diarrhoea, avian influenza, and Salmonella Dublin in five European countries. These practical applications highlighted the importance of a comprehensive evaluation approach to improve the quality of the evaluation outputs (economic evaluation; multiple attributes assessment) and demonstrated the usefulness of the guidance provided by the EVA tool. At the same time they showed that comprehensive evaluations might be constrained by practical issues (e.g. confidentiality concerns, data availability) and resource scarcity. In the long term, the EVA tool is expected to increase professional evaluation capacity and help optimising animal health surveillance system efficiency and resource allocation for both public and private actors of the surveillance systems.

One Health (OH) positions health professionals as agents for change and provides a platform to manage determinants of health that are often not comprehensively captured in medicine or public health alone. However, due to the organization of societies and disciplines, and the sectoral allocation of resources, the development of transdisciplinary approaches requires effort and perseverance. Therefore, there is a need to provide evidence on the added value of OH for governments, researchers, funding bodies, and stakeholders. This paper outlines a conceptual framework of what OH approaches can encompass and the added values they can provide. The framework was developed during a workshop conducted by the “Network for Evaluation of One Health,” an Action funded by the European Cooperation in Science and Technology. By systematically describing the various aspects of OH, we provide the basis for measuring and monitoring the integration of disciplines, sectors, and stakeholders in health initiatives. The framework identifies the social, economic, and environmental drivers leading to integrated approaches to health and illustrates how these evoke characteristic OH operations, i.e., thinking, planning, and working, and require supporting infrastructures to allow learning, sharing, and systemic organization. It also describes the OH outcomes (i.e., sustainability, health and welfare, interspecies equity and stewardship, effectiveness, and efficiency), which are not possible to obtain through sectoral approaches alone, and their alignment with aspects of sustainable development based on society, environment, and economy., peer-reviewed