Location: Foreign Animal Disease Research
Project Number: 3022-32000-064-039-N
Project Type: Non-Funded Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: May 6, 2024
End Date: May 4, 2026
Objective:
Foreign animal diseases, such as Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD), African Swine Fever (ASF), and Japanese Encephalitis Virus (JEV), are detrimental to animal health and welfare, the United States economy, and global food security. These diseases represent a critical concern, as they can devastate livestock populations, disrupt international trade, and compromise the availability of essential food resources worldwide. Through spatial analysis and mapping, this project aims to enhance our ability to assess and communicate the risks associated with livestock diseases. By leveraging geospatial technologies, we can identify potential hotspots of disease transmission, predict outbreak patterns, and inform targeted disease control measures. The goal of this agreement is to establish a productive collaborative partnership between the Cooperator and the ARS to facilitate the advancement and application of spatial analysis and mapping techniques to better understand, manage, and mitigate the risks posed by these and other foreign animal diseases. This partnership will make significant contributions to safeguarding animal health, ensuring economic stability, and securing food supplies on a global scale.
Approach:
In collaboration with the ARS, the Cooperator will assist in the analysis and modeling of foreign animal diseases such as FMD, ASF, and JEV. The project will focus on developing and applying spatial methods, advanced disease mapping techniques, and geographically informed visualizations. This approach is centered around methodological advancements in spatial data handling, analysis, and documentation that include the following elements:
1. Data Collation and Gap Analysis: The Cooperator will analyze existing data on disease outbreaks, animal movements, and environmental variables relevant to foreign animal diseases. The effort will focus on reviewing spatial and temporal data to identify gaps that require further data collection, simulation, or processing to support disease risk assessment.
2. Collaborative Data Management: The Cooperator and ARS will work together to ensure data management and documentation practices meet the high standards required for scientific research. This includes integrating diverse data types such as epidemiological, climate, and environmental datasets, essential for constructing accurate disease maps and assessments.
3. Model Development and Refinement: The project focuses on developing statistical models to understand disease transmission dynamics. These models, built using computational and quantitative methods, will use geospatial data to visualize how diseases spread across different geographies accurately. The iterative refinement of these models will be a joint effort between the Cooperator and ARS, aimed at improving model accuracy and utility.
4. Publication and Dissemination of Findings: The project is dedicated to clearly communicating its outcomes and prioritizing publishing results in scientific journals. This includes presenting and sharing methods and visualizations created to depict disease risks. The focus will be on the utility of spatial analysis and mapping in informing disease control policies and practices.
