Roadmap for development of disease control strategies for bTB

What are we trying to achieve and why? What is the problem we are trying to solve?

• Obtaining accurate animal-level cattle location, test and movement and farming practice data.
• Obtaining accurate wildlife population data, population density, disease prevalence etc. over time and at appropriate scales.
• Farm size and size of susceptible wildlife populations will affect pathogen transmission.

What are the scientific and technological challenges (knowledge gaps needing to be addressed)?

• Cattle data tend to be exceptionally well recorded and can be integrated.
• Wildlife population and disease prevalence data are notoriously difficult to estimate over time.

What approaches could/should be taken to address the research question?

• Establishing the structure of the livestock industry and contact network.
• Consider wildlife roadkill disease surveillance at broad geographic scales and targeted surveillance in hotspots.
• Wildlife population dynamics.
• Establish the carrying capacity of an area for a particular wildlife species that acts as a reservoir.

What else needs to be done before we can solve this need?

• Establish cattle identification, registration, and movement database; integrate active and passive TB surveillance.
• Establish periodic wildlife population estimation and ongoing TB surveillance via, for example, roadkill surveillance.

Existing knowledge including successes and failures