Browsing by Author "Stephen, Craig"
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- ItemOpen AccessAnimal health surveillance for early detection of emerging infectious disease risks(2011) Sawford, Kate Elizabeth; Stephen, Craig
- ItemOpen AccessAnthrax outbreaks in wild wood bison: descriptive epidemiology and surveillance(2011) Salb, Amanda Lee; Stephen, Craig
- ItemOpen AccessFactors associated with the clinical diagnosis of foot and mouth disease during the 2001 epidemic in the UK(Elsevier, 2006-11) McLaws, Melissa; Ribble, Carl; Martin, Wayne; Stephen, Craig
- ItemOpen AccessInformatics and the Electronic Medical Record for Syndromic Surveillance in Companion Animals: Development, Application and Utility(2013-01-23) Anholt, Rae; Stephen, CraigThere is growing interest in companion animal surveillance to provide an early warning for emerging environmental health risks including zoonotic diseases and chemical contamination of food, water and air. The objectives of this thesis were to plan, implement and evaluate a companion animal surveillance system capable of using existing clinical data to detect emerging environmental risks to people and/or pets. Twelve companion animal practices participated in a sentinel veterinary practice syndromic surveillance network. Enteric diseases were targeted due to their anticipated prevalence and relevance to animal and public health. Customized data extraction software automatically extracted the required fields from the veterinary practice management software at each practice and exported them to a secure data warehouse (n = 447,388 records from January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2010; extraction 99.4% accurate). The records were in free-text with no diagnostic codes or standardized nomenclature. A categorization dictionary developed using commercially available text-mining software automatically classified and retrieved cases of enteric syndrome (n = 18,832; sensitivity, 87.6% and specificity, 99.3%). Using this data it was possible to identify clusters of enteric disease in space and time, describe these patterns by the host factors and observe patterns of antimicrobial use (AMU). There was often not enough specific information recorded in the medical record to describe the clusters by the proportion of vaccinated cases, the probable etiological agent or by environmental factors that may be predictive of increased risk. The lack of contextual information in the medical records limited the usefulness of this system to provide an early warning of environmental hazards. The system could be used to monitor temporal trends in AMU or conduct analytical studies to explore patterns of AMU and concomitant increases in antimicrobial resistance. The system may be useful for studies that support evidence-based veterinary medicine. Future companion animal surveillance systems should consider imposing structured clinical reports onto the submissions from the participating veterinarians. This would address many of the data and system quality issues encountered in this study, but may have an impact on the willingness of veterinarians to participate in community-based surveillance.
- ItemOpen AccessShrimp Farming Practices in the Puttallam District of Sri Lanka: Implications for Disease Control, Industry Sustainability, and Rural Development(2010-08-12) Munasinghe, M. Nalaka; Stephen, Craig; Abeynayake, Preeni; Abeygunawardena, Indra S.Shrimp farming has great potential to diversify and secure income in rural Sri Lanka, but production has significantly declined in recent years due to civil conflicts, some unsustainable practices and devastating outbreaks of disease. We examined management practices affecting disease prevention and control in the Puttalam district to identify extension services outputs that could support sustainable development of Sri Lankan shrimp farming. A survey on 621 shrimp farms (603 operational and 18 nonoperational) was conducted within the Puttalam district over 42 weeks comprising a series of three-day field visits from August 2008 to October 2009, covering two consecutive shrimp crops. Fundamental deficits in disease control, management, and biosecurity practices were found. Farmers had knowledge of biosecurity but the lack of financial resources was a major impediment to improved disease control. Smallholder farmers were disproportionately constrained in their ability to enact basic biosecurity practices due to their economic status. Basic breaches in biosecurity will keep disease as the rate limiting step in this industry. Plans to support this industry must recognize the socioeconomic reality of rural Sri Lankan aquaculture.