title: Spatial dynamics of bovine tuberculosis in the Autonomous Community of Madrid, Spain (2010-2012).
abstract: Progress in control of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is often not uniform, usually due to the effect of one or more sometimes unknown epidemiological factors impairing the success of eradication programs. Use of spatial analysis can help to identify clusters of persistence of disease, leading to the identification of these factors thus allowing the implementation of targeted control measures, and may provide some insights of disease transmission, particularly when combined with molecular typing techniques. Here, the spatial dynamics of bTB in a high prevalence region of Spain were assessed during a three year period (2010-2012) using data from the eradication campaigns to detect clusters of positive bTB herds and of those infected with certain Mycobacterium bovis strains (characterized using spoligotyping and VNTR typing). In addition, the within-herd transmission coefficient (β) was estimated in infected herds and its spatial distribution and association with other potential outbreak and herd variables was evaluated. Significant clustering of positive herds was identified in the three years of the study in the same location ("high risk area"). Three spoligotypes (SB0339, SB0121 and SB1142) accounted for >70% of the outbreaks detected in the three years. VNTR subtyping revealed the presence of few but highly prevalent strains within the high risk area, suggesting maintained transmission in the area. The spatial autocorrelation found in the distribution of the estimated within-herd transmission coefficients in herds located within distances <14 km and the results of the spatial regression analysis, support the hypothesis of shared local factors affecting disease transmission in farms located at a close proximity.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Vigilancia Sanitaria Veterinaria VISAVET, Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Maria Luisa
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: de la Cruz
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Population Medicine, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota, United States of America.
authors.forename: Andres
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Perez
authors.affiliation: Centro de Vigilancia Sanitaria Veterinaria VISAVET, Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain; MAEVA SERVET SL, Alameda del Valle, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bezos
authors.affiliation: Área de Ganadería, Dirección General de Medio Ambiente, Consejería de Medio Ambiente, Vivienda y Ordenación del Territorio de la Comunidad de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Enrique
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pages
authors.affiliation: Centro de Vigilancia Sanitaria Veterinaria VISAVET, Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Casal
authors.affiliation: Área de Ganadería, Dirección General de Medio Ambiente, Consejería de Medio Ambiente, Vivienda y Ordenación del Territorio de la Comunidad de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Jesus
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Carpintero
authors.affiliation: Centro de Vigilancia Sanitaria Veterinaria VISAVET, Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Beatriz
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Romero
authors.affiliation: Área de Ganadería, Dirección General de Medio Ambiente, Consejería de Medio Ambiente, Vivienda y Ordenación del Territorio de la Comunidad de Madrid, Madrid, Spain; Departamento de Sanidad Animal, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Lucas
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dominguez
authors.affiliation: Center for Vectorborne Diseases and Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California Davis, Davis, California, United States of America.
authors.forename: Christopher M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Barker
authors.affiliation: Área de Ganadería, Dirección General de Medio Ambiente, Consejería de Medio Ambiente, Vivienda y Ordenación del Territorio de la Comunidad de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Rosa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Diaz
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Population Medicine, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota, United States of America.
authors.forename: Julio
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Alvarez
mesh_terms: D000822:Animal Husbandry; D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D058889:Molecular Typing; D009163:Mycobacterium bovis / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology; D014380:Tuberculosis, Bovine / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*