Highly dynamic animal contact network and implications on disease transmission

Chen, Shi; White, Brad J.; Sanderson, Michael W.; Amrine, David E.; Ilany, Amiyaal; Lanzas, Cristina

In this study, we constructed animal contact networks using realtime animal position data at high temporal and spatial resolutions for three groups of calves. Our objectives were to quantify individual and temporal (within-day and between-day) heterogeneity in animal contact networks at the pen level and assess the implications of these sources of heterogeneity in disease transmission. Toward that purpose, we incorporated sources of identified heterogeneity (e.g. temporal heterogeneity in contact networks and changes in network order) into a contact-based disease transmission model within an agent-based modeling framework. The validity of some commonly used assumptions in disease transmission models (e.g. constant number of contacts among individual and over time) is investigated and discussed.