Wildlife Interactions on Baited Places and Waterholes in a French Area Infected by Bovine Tuberculosis.

Interactions among wildlife species are major drivers for the transmission of multi-host pathogens, such as , which also affect livestock. Although France is officially free from bovine tuberculosis (bTB), some areas are still harboring infection in cattle and wildlife. We aimed at characterizing the visits of susceptible wild species (badger, red deer, and wild boar) at baited places and waterholes, considered as possible hotspots for contacts.

Impact of stakeholders influence, geographic level and risk perception on strategic decisions in simulated foot and mouth disease epizootics in France.

Comparison of control strategies against animal infectious diseases allows determining optimal strategies according to their epidemiological and/or economic impacts. However, in real life, the choice of a control strategy does not always obey a pure economic or epidemiological rationality. The objective of this study was to analyze the choice of a foot and mouth disease (FMD) control strategy as a decision-making process in which the decision-maker is influenced by several stakeholders (government, agro-food industries, public opinion).

Network of contacts between cattle herds in a French area affected by bovine tuberculosis in 2010.

France attained 'Officially Tuberculosis-Free' status in 2000. However, the Côte d'Or department (a French administrative unit) has since seen an increase in bovine tuberculosis (bTB) cases, with 35% of cases attributed to neighbourhood contamination. The aim of this study was to investigate the characteristics of neighbourhood contacts in an area affected by bTB in 2010, through the use of social network methods.

Vulnerability of animal trade networks to the spread of infectious diseases: a methodological approach applied to evaluation and emergency control strategies in cattle, France, 2005.

Besides farming, trade of livestock is a major component of agricultural economy. However, the networks generated by live animal movements are the major support for the propagation of infectious agents between farms, and their structure strongly affects how fast a disease may spread. Structural characteristics may thus be indicators of network vulnerability to the spread of infectious disease.