This project will provide understanding of the epidemiology of infectious diseases in the ecological context of networks of host movements. Specifically, the goal is to understand transmission and maintenance of Foot and Mouth Disease Viruses (FMDV) in networks of livestock movements in the Far North Region of Cameroon. Because FMD is endemic and vaccinations are not used, the region provides an unprecedented opportunity to examine how different networks of livestock movements affect disease epidemiology. Data on disease incidence and prevalence will be collected for four years in overlapping networks of livestock movement including daily foraging, annual transhumance, regional markets, and transboundary trade. The data will be used to develop coupled models of infections within herds and models of movement and connectivity between herds within and across networks.
Beyond the development of modeling approaches that will be useful in the study of other infectious diseases with networks of host movements, these models will be used by veterinary and human health services in Cameroon and other nations in the Chad Basin to monitor disease and explore possible interventions for many diseases. The project will also include training Cameroonian veterinary students and researchers in the use of the model and in epidemiology and modeling in general. In addition, local herders will be trained to assist in data collection and surveillance of disease outbreaks using a cell-phone reporting system. The combination of local surveillance system that is embedded in the pastoral system and a regional monitoring system that can analyze epidemiological trends, can improve disease interventions.
