The Role of Agricultural Biosurveillance in Limiting Disease Spread
With the goal of limiting disease spread among on-farm animals, agricultural biosurveillance can play a critical role. The H5N1 virus, more commonly known as avian influenza or “bird flu,” is spreading on farms in poultry and herds of dairy cows. Agricultural biosurveillance can support early detection by helping to gather, integrate, and interpret essential information related to threats and diseases in agriculture. This contributes to situational awareness regarding animal health, prompting the implementation of measures to prevent further spread of the virus. This effort protects not only livestock, but also neighboring farms, farm employees, and consumers. Read more about H5N1 in our blog “How Bad is H5N1?”
There are numerous systems that can support 24-hour agricultural biosurveillance on a farm or ranch, monitoring everything from milk bulk tanks to chick hatcheries and hog barns to row crop fields. Newer systems like data analysis software and data streams can collect and analyze the data source of a given biosurveillance goal such as populations of specific species of animal, plants, or infections. Health–related data and formal diagnostics, identification of specific infections, and environmental factors can also be factored into these systems. There can also be continued improvement in the use of current methods, such handheld devices, computer–based PCR equipment, lateral flow assays for quick detection, collections techniques, and in laboratory-based clinical assays.
In addition to H5N1, there are many types of diseases that can be caught by agricultural biosurveillance, including bovine viral diarrhea (BVD), and prion diseases, as well as plant and crop health issues. Once a disease is detected, reporting to the appropriate authorities begins based on the disease detected and the person or agency responsible. For animal diseases, this could include local and state veterinarians. For plant-based diseases, this could include working with representatives from the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).
Use of agricultural biosurveillance increases the alignment, engagement, and participation of stakeholders across surveillance systems, while providing data from varied streams and improving the integration and analysis of that data. This enhances real-time decision-making in the detection and containment of diseases, while helping researchers learn more about the disease to implement necessary preventive measures, including such as vaccines, therapies, and on-farm biosecurity procedures. Read more about the development of preventive vaccines in our blog “Development of mRNA Vaccines.”
