The Effect of Human Behavior on the Spread of Bovine Tuberculosis in Wild and Domestic Populations in the UK

Abstract

Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is a zoonotic disease that is prevalent worldwide. The bacterium causing this disease (Mycobacterium bovis) frequently transmits from the wild host opulation it is endemic to, to domestic cattle. The infection of cattle consequently causes the disease to spread within and between farms, with the potential of spillover events to humans. In the UK, M. bovis is carried by and causes bTB in the wild badger (Meles meles) population. Various biosecurity methods are available to farmers to increase protection against an outbreak of bTB in their herd. How and when these measures are implemented is partly a voluntary decision. The connection between farmers’ decisions with regards to biosecurity, and the epidemiological dynamics of bTB is not well understood. We propose a project in which extensive empirical information is gathered on the behavioral dynamics of farmers, to subsequently implement the gained knowledge in an epidemiological model. This model will be in the form of a spatial simulation, and will be based on previously formed models of the spread of bTB in the UK. With this model, we aim to better understand the interaction between farmers’ decisions and the spread of bTB.