Veterinary Epidemiology
Clinical research on health and welfare of production animals aims to optimise and sustain animal production systems
Our research includes projects on:
- Pathogen transmission in farm animal populations
- Cognitive behaviour and welfare
- Reproduction
- Nutrition
- Animal health economics
- Evidence-based veterinary medicine
The facilities of Farm Animal Health allow for controlled animal experiments in poultry, pigs and ruminants, while the teaching farm is available for practical research. Additionally, the University Farm Animal Practice (ULP) is a large Dutch bovine practice with ample opportunities for field studies.
Pig health
Within the field of pig health, our research focuses on:
- The control of infectious diseases
- Antimicrobial resistance
- The welfare impact of locomotion disease
Poultry health
For poultry health we focus on:
- Infection and immunity in the broiler production system to reduce dependence on antimicrobial usage
Bovine health
In the field of bovine health, our research focuses on:
- Infectious diseases
- Prudent use of antibiotics
- Udder health
Small ruminants
For small ruminants we study udder health with emphasis on pathogen characteristics.
Animal Health Economics
Within Animal Health Economics our research focuses on assessing the economic impacts of animal diseases and health interventions. It focuses on understanding the costs and benefits associated with disease prevention, control, and treatment in production animals. The field helps decision-makers (farmers, veterinarians, policymakers) to make informed decisions.
Pigs love M&M's
The video shows a pig searching for M&M’s® in the holeboard, from the pig’s perspective. We use the holeboard task to test spatial learning in pigs. The holeboard consists of an arena with a 4X4 matrix of “holes”, which are plastic food bowls covered with a red ball. Four of these 16 bowls contain M&M’s®. Because pigs like to eat M&M’s®, they search the holeboard to find the treats. In order to find the hidden M&M’s®, the pig must lift up the ball covering the bowl with its snout. This looks a lot like the natural behaviour of the pig that, in its natural habitat, spends much of its time rooting for food with its snout. If the hole contains M&M’s®, the pigs eat them and search for the M&M’s®. As soon as the pig retracts its nose, the ball falls back onto the food bowl, which means that they can’t see where they have already been. Pigs quite quickly learn which holes contain M&M’s®, and after some training, they only visit the holes that contain M&M’s®. How well and how quickly a pig learns this task can tell us a lot about its long term memory, short term memory, and motivation to find food rewards.
Quantifying transmission of infections is crucial to the success of control strategies
We use:
- Mathematical modeling to describe the population dynamics of infection, formulate testable hypotheses and extrapolate research findings
- Experiments to identify causal infection determinants
- Field studies to quantify transmission and associated risk factors
The combination of these methods iteratively leads to insight into the population dynamics of infections in and between animal populations.
Quantitative Molecular Epidemiology
We use epidemiological models to combine molecular data of microorganisms and contact information of hosts to unravel and quantify transmission routes. Current examples are avian influenza virus, ESBL-producing bacteria, (Methicillin resistant) Staphylococcus aureus and (components) of the microbiome.
Infectious Disease Agents in Ecosystems
We integrate ecology and epidemiology to study infectious disease dynamics of pathogens and parasites in ecosystems. The aim is to increase understanding of the role of infectious agents in natural systems, and ultimately to contribute insight into factors that influence jumps of infectious agents between species, in particular emergence in humans from wildlife.
Experimental Epidemiology
We study the transmission of infectious agents under controlled conditions aiming to link infection dynamics in individuals to infection dynamics in populations and test the effect of intervention measures. We study, for instance, ESBL producing bacteria, coccidia and the microbiome.
