Abstract
Similar to precision medicine or precision public health, precision veterinary epidemiology uses high-resolution data (from genome to phenome and beyond) to get further insights of the epidemiological problem and support the timely selection of customized interventions to specific groups of animals, farms or productions systems that are more adequate to address their specific needs. This approach requires Big Data that are not only genetic (both at host and agent level), but also include animal and environmental characteristics, management practices, biosecurity measures and animal movements at a farm and production system level.
This precision epidemiology concept is based on the novel development, application and operational accessibility of advanced data mining and machine learning approaches that effectively evaluate the complexity and multi-level nature of the epidemiological problem and that, in combination with decision support platforms, facilitates the timely analysis, visualization, communication and sharing of information to support decisions at population level and achieve global herd/farm/system optimization.
In this work we illustrate how we are using precision epidemiology in the swine industry using the Disease BioPortal platform to empower veterinarians and farmers through advanced data-driven analytics & customized dashboards to more proactively manage animal health. Our approach combines multiple analytical tools such as geographic information systems, phylogenetics, network analysis and machine learning models to dynamically analyze the distribution of disease over space and time and create predictive models adapted to epidemiologically changing scenarios. But finally, this complex process needs to be translated in clear and simple visualizations of results or risks which can be easily interpreted by the final users (i.e. field veterinarians, production managers, diagnosticians, etc.). We will show how users can evaluate risks for animal collectives and support real-time responses in changing scenarios, which may include, for example, from the emergence of an outbreak in an area to changes on vaccination strategies or commercial policies.
Although we believe precision epidemiology will vertically contribute to the overall animal health, animal welfare, farm productivity/sustainability and revenue in the livestock industry; its application is in its infancy and it still requires critical advancement and substantial changes in the way we collect, standardize, integrate, share and use data in veterinary medicine. We share our experience addressing some of these challenges and provide some recommendations and future directions.