Evaluating the Effectiveness of Strategies for the Control of Equine Influenza Virus in the New Zealand Equine Population.
Abstract: New Zealand has never experienced an equine influenza (EI) outbreak. The 2007 outbreak of EI in Australia showed that in a naïve population EI spreads rapidly and substantial efforts (in terms of movement restrictions, mass vaccination and post-vaccination surveillance) were required to achieve eradication. To control EI, it is essential that animal health authorities have well-defined strategies for containment, control and eradication in place before an incursion occurs. A spatially explicit stochastic simulation model, InterSpread Plus, was used to evaluate EI control strategies for the New Zealand situation. The control strategies considered were movement restrictions alone and movement restrictions in combination with one of three vaccination strategies beginning on day 14; suppressive, protective or targeted. The suppressive strategy involved vaccination in a 3 km radius around infected properties, while the protective strategy involved vaccination in a 7-10 km ring around infected properties. Targeted vaccination involved the vaccination of all breeding and racing properties within 20 km of an infected property. Simulations were carried out to determine the impact of timing of vaccination and earlier detection on the size of and duration of the outbreak. All three vaccination strategies implemented on day 14 resulted in between 1028 and 2161 fewer infected properties (P < 0.001), and an epidemic that was between 42 and 90 days shorter (P < 0.001) compared with movement restrictions alone. Any vaccination strategy implemented on day 7 resulted in fewer infected properties, compared with vaccination implemented on days 14 or 21. Overall, the suppressive vaccination strategy resulted in fewer infected properties. Our findings indicate that any vaccination strategy, if combined with complete movement restrictions could be effective for the control of EI, if an outbreak was to occur in New Zealand. If an outbreak were to occur, a simulation model has now been created to assist in decision-making using data from the actual outbreak.
© 2014 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.
Publication Date: 2014-10-07 PubMed ID: 25287746DOI: 10.1111/tbed.12277Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
- Research Support
- Non-U.S. Gov't
Summary
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This research article explores and evaluates potential strategies for controlling an outbreak of equine influenza (EI) in New Zealand, using a simulation model to gauge effectiveness.
Overview of the Study
- The research team used a simulation model, named InterSpread Plus, to test different control strategies and how they would perform in the event of an EI outbreak in New Zealand.
- The control strategies tested include movement restrictions, as well as movement restrictions coupled with one of the three vaccination strategies: suppressive, protective, and targeted.
- The suppressive strategy involves vaccination within a 3 km radius around infected properties. The protective strategy involves vaccination within a larger 7-10 km radius around infected properties. The targeted vaccination strategy involves vaccinating all breeding and racing properties within a 20 km radius of an infected property.
Findings of the Study
- The simulations indicated that implementing any of the three vaccination strategies on day 14 of an outbreak, coupled with movement restrictions, resulted in between 1028 and 2161 fewer infected properties. They also found that the duration of the epidemic would be 42 to 90 days shorter compared to simply implementing movement restrictions.
- Implementing any vaccination strategy combined with complete movement restrictions on day 7 resulted in fewer infected properties when compared to implementing the same measures on days 14 or 21.
- Overall, the suppressive vaccination strategy – vaccinating handlers within a 3 km radius around infected areas – produced fewer infected properties.
Implications of the Study
- The results suggest that any of the vaccination strategies, if combined with complete movement restrictions, could effectively control EI in the event of an outbreak in New Zealand.
- The research team has now established a simulation model, which can be used to aid decision-making during an actual outbreak using real-time data. This helped solidify strategies for containment, control, and eradication of EI even before an incursion occurs.
Cite This Article
APA
Rosanowski SM, Cogger N, Rogers CW, Stevenson MA.
(2014).
Evaluating the Effectiveness of Strategies for the Control of Equine Influenza Virus in the New Zealand Equine Population.
Transbound Emerg Dis, 63(3), 321-332.
https://doi.org/10.1111/tbed.12277 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- EpiCentre, Institute of Veterinary, Animal, and Biomedical Sciences, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand.
- EpiCentre, Institute of Veterinary, Animal, and Biomedical Sciences, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand.
- Massey Equine, Institute of Veterinary, Animal, and Biomedical Sciences, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand.
- EpiCentre, Institute of Veterinary, Animal, and Biomedical Sciences, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Disease Outbreaks / prevention & control
- Disease Outbreaks / veterinary
- Horse Diseases / epidemiology
- Horse Diseases / prevention & control
- Horse Diseases / virology
- Horses
- Influenza A virus / physiology
- Mass Vaccination / veterinary
- Models, Theoretical
- New Zealand / epidemiology
- Orthomyxoviridae Infections / epidemiology
- Orthomyxoviridae Infections / prevention & control
- Orthomyxoviridae Infections / veterinary
- Orthomyxoviridae Infections / virology
Citations
This article has been cited 5 times.- Gonzalez-Obando J, Forero JE, Zuluaga-Cabrera AM, Ruiz-Saenz J. Equine Influenza Virus: An Old Known Enemy in the Americas.. Vaccines (Basel) 2022 Oct 14;10(10).
- Rosanowski SM, Carpenter TE, Adamson D, Rogers CW, Pearce P, Burns M, Cogger N. An economic analysis of a contingency model utilising vaccination for the control of equine influenza in a non-endemic country.. PLoS One 2019;14(1):e0210885.
- Singh RK, Dhama K, Karthik K, Khandia R, Munjal A, Khurana SK, Chakraborty S, Malik YS, Virmani N, Singh R, Tripathi BN, Munir M, van der Kolk JH. A Comprehensive Review on Equine Influenza Virus: Etiology, Epidemiology, Pathobiology, Advances in Developing Diagnostics, Vaccines, and Control Strategies.. Front Microbiol 2018;9:1941.
- Spence KL, O'Sullivan TL, Poljak Z, Greer AL. Using a computer simulation model to examine the impact of biosecurity measures during a facility-level outbreak of equine influenza.. Can J Vet Res 2018 Apr;82(2):89-96.
- Paillot R, El-Hage CM. The Use of a Recombinant Canarypox-Based Equine Influenza Vaccine during the 2007 Australian Outbreak: A Systematic Review and Summary.. Pathogens 2016 Jun 10;5(2).
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