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Network analysis of pig movements in Ecuador: strengthening surveillance of classical swine fever
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  • Alfredo Acosta,
  • Nicolas C. Cardenas,
  • Luis Pisuna,
  • Jason Gavis,
  • Rommel Lenin Vinueza,
  • Kleber Stalin Vasquez,
  • Jose Grisi-Filho,
  • Marcos Amaku,
  • Vitor Goncalves,
  • Fernando Ferreira
Alfredo Acosta
Universidade de Sao Paulo

Corresponding Author:alfredoacosta@usp.br

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Nicolas C. Cardenas
NC State University College of Veterinary Medicine
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Luis Pisuna
Agencia Ecuatoriana de Aseguramiento de la Calidad del Agro
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Jason Gavis
NC State University College of Veterinary Medicine
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Rommel Lenin Vinueza
Universidad San Francisco de Quito Colegio de Ciencias de la Salud
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Kleber Stalin Vasquez
Agencia Ecuatoriana de Aseguramiento de la Calidad del Agro
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Jose Grisi-Filho
Universidade de Sao Paulo
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Marcos Amaku
Universidade de Sao Paulo
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Vitor Goncalves
Universidade de Brasilia
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Fernando Ferreira
Universidade de Sao Paulo
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Abstract

The analysis of domestic pig movements have became useful in the understanding of disease spread patterns and epidemiology, which facilitates the development of more effective animal diseases control strategies. The aim of this work was to analyse the static and spatial characteristics of the pig network, to identify its trading communities and to analyse the contribution of the network to the transmission of classical swine fever. Pig movement data were extracted from the national veterinary service database (2017-2019), using social network analysis and spatial analysis we constructed a network with registered premises as nodes and their movements as edges, and also a network of parishes as its nodes aggregating their premises movements as edges. The annual network metrics showed in average a diameter of 20.33, a number of neighbours of 2.61, a shortest path length of 4.39 and a clustering coefficient of 0.38 (small-world structure). The most frequent movements were to or from markets (57%). Backyard producers made up 89% of the network premises, and the top 2% of parishes (highest degree) contributed to 50% of the movements. The highest frequencies of movements between parishes were in the centre of the country, while the highest frequency of movements to abattoirs was in the south-west. Finally, the pattern of CSF disease outbreaks within the Ecuador network was likely the result of network transmission processes. In conclusion, our results represent the first exploratory analysis of domestic pig movements at premise and parish levels. These results could be taken into account by the surveillance system to improve its procedures and update the disease control and management policy, allowing the implementation of targeted or risk-based surveillance.
30 Apr 2022Submitted to Transboundary and Emerging Diseases
06 May 2022Submission Checks Completed
06 May 2022Assigned to Editor
09 May 2022Reviewer(s) Assigned
01 Jun 2022Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
01 Jun 2022Editorial Decision: Revise Minor
15 Jun 20221st Revision Received
15 Jun 2022Submission Checks Completed
15 Jun 2022Assigned to Editor
15 Jun 2022Reviewer(s) Assigned
17 Jun 2022Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
17 Jun 2022Editorial Decision: Accept
Sep 2022Published in Transboundary and Emerging Diseases volume 69 issue 5. 10.1111/tbed.14640