Spatial analysis of areas of greatest vulnerability for the introduction of Avian Influenza and Newcastle in poultry establishments in Santa Catarina state

• Grant number: 21/03727-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: June 01, 2021
• End date: May 31, 2022
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Preventive Veterinary Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Fernando Ferreira
• Grantee: Julia Silvestrini Machado
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (FMVZ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Brazil is one of the main world producers and exporters of poultry meat, with Santa Catarina (SC) as the second largest exporter among the country states. Being concerned with the foreign market demands and offering quality and safe products to the final consumer, the existence of an efficient control of the introduction of Avian Influenza (AI) and Newcastle Disease (NCD) in the national poultry flock is of utmost importance, since both are zoonotic diseases and may cause significant economic losses for the entire poultry production chain. In order to characterize the areas of greatest vulnerability for the introduction of AI and NCD in poultry establishments in SC, the project's proposal is to execute a spatial analysis of these establishments. To this end, a database with geographic coordinates and other information on commercial poultry farmers and backyard breeders will be developed, through a partnership with CIDASC, in addition to information on migratory bird sites, produced by ICMBio. Based on the data, spatial analysis will be developed considering the establishments' accommodation capacity, distance to migratory bird sites (reproduction and feeding sites) and their population density. After the identification of the most vulnerable areas, the introduction and spread of the disease in these regions will be simulated.