Autonomous surveillance for biosecurity

The global movement of people and goods has increased the risk of biosecurity threats and their potential to incur large economic, social, and environmental costs. Conventional manual biosecurity surveillance methods are limited by their scalability in space and time. This article focuses on autonomous surveillance systems, comprising sensor networks, robots, and intelligent algorithms, and their applicability to biosecurity threats. We discuss the spatial and temporal attributes of autonomous surveillance technologies and map them to three broad categories of biosecurity threat: (i) vector-borne diseases; (ii) plant pests; and (iii) aquatic pests. Our discussion reveals a broad range of opportunities to serve biosecurity needs through autonomous surveillance.Comment: 26 pages, Trends in Biotechnology, 3 March 2015, ISSN 0167-7799, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tibtech.2015.01.003. (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167779915000190

An assessment of health management and biosecurity procedures in marine fish farming in Spain

Marine fish farming in Spain has experienced problems of performance due to losses caused by infectious diseases. Biosecurity and health management are identified by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) as current priorities for proper aquaculture governance. However, they both transcend the responsibility of farmers and require significant resources, concerted action and cooperation. This study presents the analysis of biosecurity practices on marine fish farms, through a questionnaire-based survey on biosecurity procedures and an analysis of health management practices for different stakeholders. The Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) technique was implemented, which identified the important threats and weaknesses faced by the sector, such as the risk of direct disease transmission between farms, the high likelihood of importing diseases through juvenile shipments, the chronic lack of communication between stakeholders, and the deficient coordination of health strategies. Strengths included awareness of prevention measures and the availability of expertize of health experts at most levels. On the other hand, the availability of experts together with the need to adapt governance to the current production systems were seen as opportunities. Health management measures themselves were actually already found to be adapted to the type of production but they varied between companies (i.e. categorization and diagnosis of mortalities). Nevertheless, the quality of expertize along the value chain provided by private and public laboratories, research institutes, Health Protection Groups, companies and veterinarians was noteworthy. However, there was still a need for all stakeholders involved in marine fish health to improve diagnostics, provide epidemiological information, biosecurity and prevention measures, as well as to promote transparency for better health governance.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

An assessment of health management and biosecurity procedures in marine fish farming in Spain

Marine fish farming in Spain has experienced problems of performance due to losses caused by infectious diseases. Biosecurity and health management are identified by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) as current priorities for proper aquaculture governance. However, they both transcend the responsibility of farmers and require significant resources, concerted action and cooperation. This study presents the analysis of biosecurity practices on marine fish farms, through a questionnaire-based survey on biosecurity procedures and an analysis of health management practices for different stakeholders. The Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) technique was implemented, which identified the important threats and weaknesses faced by the sector, such as the risk of direct disease transmission between farms, the high likelihood of importing diseases through juvenile shipments, the chronic lack of communication between stakeholders, and the deficient coordination of health strategies. Strengths included awareness of prevention measures and the availability of expertize of health experts at most levels. On the other hand, the availability of experts together with the need to adapt governance to the current production systems were seen as opportunities. Health management measures themselves were actually already found to be adapted to the type of production but they varied between companies (i.e. categorization and diagnosis of mortalities). Nevertheless, the quality of expertize along the value chain provided by private and public laboratories, research institutes, Health Protection Groups, companies and veterinarians was noteworthy. However, there was still a need for all stakeholders involved in marine fish health to improve diagnostics, provide epidemiological information, biosecurity and prevention measures, as well as to promote transparency for better health governance

Modeling the live-pig trade network in Georgia: Implications for disease prevention and control.

Live pig trade patterns, drivers and characteristics, particularly in backyard predominant systems, remain largely unexplored despite their important contribution to the spread of infectious diseases in the swine industry. A better understanding of the pig trade dynamics can inform the implementation of risk-based and more cost-effective prevention and control programs for swine diseases. In this study, a semi-structured questionnaire elaborated by FAO and implemented to 487 farmers was used to collect data regarding basic characteristics about pig demographics and live-pig trade among villages in the country of Georgia, where very scarce information is available. Social network analysis and exponential random graph models were used to better understand the structure, contact patterns and main drivers for pig trade in the country. Results indicate relatively infrequent (a total of 599 shipments in one year) and geographically localized (median Euclidean distance between shipments = 6.08 km; IQR = 0-13.88 km) pig movements in the studied regions. The main factors contributing to live-pig trade movements among villages were being from the same region (i.e., local trade), usage of a middleman or a live animal market to trade live pigs by at least one farmer in the village, and having a large number of pig farmers in the village. The identified villages' characteristics and structural network properties could be used to inform the design of more cost-effective surveillance systems in a country which pig industry was recently devastated by African swine fever epidemics and where backyard production systems are predominant

Economic, epidemiological, and social analyses of H7N9 influenza control strategies for yellow broilers in Guangxi, China

The emergence of H7N9 influenza and its zoonotic transmission in China since March 2013 highlighted the continued threat from emerging avian influenza with pandemic potential. A series of policies and interventions were implemented nationwide; however, critical reviews of the effectiveness of these control strategies are lacking. This research conducted in Guangxi, a province with a significant yellow broiler industry, was designed to provide economic, epidemiological, and social evidence to inform future H7N9 control strategies in China. A value chain study was conducted to examine the yellow broiler production and trading system in Guangxi. Stakeholders of the yellow broiler industry, their interactions, governance structure and risk practices were investigated. Yellow broiler grower companies were the dominant stakeholders. Trading platforms were key premises, linking farms and live bird markets, to be included in H7N9 influenza control programs. Poor biosecurity practices present in different premises along the value chain, pose significant challenges for the control of H7N9 influenza. Spatio-temporal patterns of the movement of live broilers within and from Guangxi were also assessed. The most central broiler populations in the movement network were identified. The results showed that targeting areas based on movement characteristics would enable controlling H7N9 influenza more effectively compared to applying the same policy throughout Guangxi. The yellow broiler industry stakeholders’ practices, attitudes and motivations regarding H7N9 vaccination were investigated using a mixed-methods design. There was a strong willingness for the industry to continue vaccination even without government support. The economic values of the H7N9 vaccination program were also assessed using a benefit-cost analysis. It demonstrated that the current vaccination program was economically profitable compared to not vaccinating. However, the economic returns of vaccination relied heavily on industry profits. In summary, these research findings can help strengthen the control of H7N9 influenza in Guangxi and provide support for future avian influenza control strategies throughout China

Determination of the elimination costs of vibrations and dust transmission in refurbishment healthcare buildings works in Spain

The aim of this paper is to evaluate the average cost of preventive measures for noise insulation, vibrations and dust transmission in healthcare buildings, which guarantee environmental biosafety in renovation infrastructure works. 30 hospital reformation works carried out between 2004 and 2010 in Spain were analyzed. The average impact of the environmental biosafety measures incorporated in the project was 1.07 % of the budget. The average cost of the actions was 5.5 €/m2 in works in critical areas and 0.9 €/m2 in the rest. In critical areas, the sectoring meant an average cost of 26.89 % of the budget of the work and in the rest of areas of 29.48 %. It was concluded that the management of environmental biosafety in the works means a minimum cost, which reduces the transmission of noise, vibrations and dust, reducing the probability of nosocomial infection

Security analysis for agroterrorism: applying the threat, vulnerability, consequence framework to developing countries

"We examine access to, use of, and participation in decisions on improved water supply in the Volta basin of Ghana, one of the first countries to introduce a community-based approach to rural water supply on a large scale. While 71 percent of the households interviewed have access to improved water, 43 percent of these continue to use unsafe sources as their main domestic water source. Our results indicate that quality perceptions and opportunity costs play an important role in households' choice of water source. The effect of prices and income levels on this choice differs according to the pricing system used. Given that supply characteristics such as the location and pricing system affect household decisions to use the improved source, households may try to influence these characteristics in their favor during the community decision-making process for the improved source. However, less than 40 percent of the households interviewed participated in decisions on location or technology. We argue that the decision whether to participate depends on three main factors: (i) the household's bargaining power, (ii) the potential benefits from influencing outcomes, and (iii) the cost of participation, (mainly opportunity cost of time). Our results indicate that bargaining power matters In some developing countries the potential exists for agroterrorism to cause widespread disruption through loss of sustenance, income and production. Defense of agriculture may also be problematic because of the lack stability and basic biosecurity infrastructure for the detection and prevention of diseases or invasive species. Currently new methodological approaches for terrorism risk assessments are being actively explored for resource prioritization. One such methodology for risk based allocation of resources is Threat, Vulnerability, and Consequence (TVC) Analysis. A qualitative application of the TVC framework is used to analyze the risk of agroterrorism in developing countries relative to industrialized countries. The analysis suggests that evidence exists to demonstrate general terrorist threats, vulnerability of agriculture and, depending on the country, potentially serious consequences arising from argoterrorism. Where specific threats emerge, action may be needed by the international community to strengthen biosecurity systems in developing countries through: increasing global cooperation, capacity building in monitoring, remediation and risk analysis technologies, and the dissemination of novel technologies for control of pests and diseases." Authors' AbstractCapacity strengthening, Water-supply Management, Agroterrorism, Biosecurity, Risk analysis, resource allocation, Terrorism, Governance,

A survey of biosecurity measures and serological status for bovine viral diarrhoea virus and bovine herpesvirus 1 on dairy cattle farms in north-west and north-east Spain

Biosecurity is a key measure to reduce and prevent the introduction of diseases to farms and minimise spread of diseases within a herd. The aim of the study was to characterise the current application of biosecurity measures on dairy cattle farms in Spain along with their bovine viral diarrhoea and infectious bovine rhinotracheitis status. Data on biosecurity measures for 124 dairy herds were collected using a questionnaire. The sanitary status of these farms for bovine viral diarrhoea and infectious bovine rhinotracheitis was also assessed using antibody ELISA. Data were analysed using multiple correspondence analysis and a two-step cluster analysis. Three main clusters of farms were identified: clusters 1 and 2 included herds of small and intermediate sizes. These, particularly cluster 1, showed the most deficiencies in the control of vehicles and visitors. However, laboratory tests were always performed on purchased animals. Cluster 3 had the largest herd sizes, with somewhat better biosecurity control of vehicles and visitors. However, farms in this cluster also purchased the most animals, sometimes without testing, and hired external workers more often. The study indicated that, in the study population, there are serious shortcomings in the application of biosecurity measures on dairy farms, exposing them to disease transmission. This survey also highlights regional and herd size-related differences in the implementation of biosecurity. Collecting data is an important first step to identification of specific weaknesses in different farm typologies, and an adequate follow-up is needed to ensure that measures are implemented correctly on farms

Seabed Surveillance and Underwater Structures Inspection with Remotely Operated Vehicle − Power Ray

The marine ecosystem is necessary to be monitored as it is exposed to externalities and pollutants that affect biodiversity and the state of the underwater structures. There is a demand for a better, more dynamic, and safe monitoring approach to underwater research and inspection. The unmanned underwater vehicles are becoming a reachable and intuitive tool for underwater inspection, such as for the inspection of the marine hull of vessels, bridges, foundations, piers, pylons, and other support structures in ports. The main advantage of the use of the remotely operated underwater drone is cost and time-efficiency, as they allow to obtain information in a fast and safe way in real-time. In this paper we investigate the possibility of the use of a remotely operated underwater drone Power Ray for seabed observation and underwater structures inspection. It describes the re-sults of the field research collected from the use of low-cost underwater drone Power Ray. The data collected with an underwater drone presents footages of different underwater structures and areas in order to document the seabed state and underwater structures. Additionally, this article provides an overview of the problems in underwater inspection and monitoring, and possibilities offered by remotely operated vehicle Power Ray in solv-ing them. The results of the paper are not unique to working with a low-cost drone, but are illustrative of the challenges and problems that new users are likely to encounter when using this technology

Hurdles and opportunities in implementing marine biosecurity systems in data-poor regions

Managing marine nonindigenous species (mNIS) is challenging, because marine environments are highly connected, allowing the dispersal of species across large spatial scales, including geopolitical borders. Cross-border inconsistencies in biosecurity management can promote the spread of mNIS across geopolitical borders, and incursions often go unnoticed or unreported. Collaborative surveillance programs can enhance the early detection of mNIS, when response may still be possible, and can foster capacity building around a common threat. Regional or international databases curated for mNIS can inform local monitoring programs and can foster real-time information exchange on mNIS of concern. When combined, local species reference libraries, publicly available mNIS databases, and predictive modeling can facilitate the development of biosecurity programs in regions lacking baseline data. Biosecurity programs should be practical, feasible, cost-effective, mainly focused on prevention and early detection, and be built on the collaboration and coordination of government, nongovernment organizations, stakeholders, and local citizens for a rapid response.This work resulted from a workshop organized at the King Abdul- lah University of Science and Technology and sponsored under the Support for Conferences and Workshops Program. We would like to thank the admin support of the Red Sea Research Cen- ter team, IT, and teachers and students from the KAUST schools who participated in some outreach activities. We thank Ana Bi- gio for the artwork presented in this article (figures 1–4). GS was supported by the European Social Fund, under project no 09.3.3- LMT-K-712, the “Development of Competences of Scientists, other Researchers and Students through Practical Research Activities” measure, grant agreement no. 09.3.3-LMT-K-712–19-0083