Date:
SWINE RESEARCH SNAPSHOT
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
INDUSTRY IMPLICATIONS:
IMPORTANT FINDINGS:
ARTICLE EXCERPT:
PRIMARY CONTACT:
For further information please contact:
or visit: https://www.uoguelph.ca/osrn/
Pigs of Instagram? Using network analysis to understand swine disease outbreaks
PED emerged into Canada in
January 2014
Source of the infection was
thought to be feed
Network analysis was used to
describe the outbreak
Networks of case and control
herd contacts are illustrated
Contact patterns identified
between herds and feed
suppliers
The first case of PED was diagnosed in a swine herd in
south-western Ontario. Social network analysis (SNA) was
used to examine the contact patterns between feed suppliers
and herds that were positive and negative for PED during the
early months of the outbreak. SNA was also used to visualize
connections. This research has improved the overall
understanding of the PED outbreak that occurred in
Canadian swine herds in 2014.
NETWORK ANALYSIS FOR DISEASE OUTBREAKS:
A network consists of individuals or groups, referred to as
“nodes” that are connected by links, which are called “edges”
to portray a type of relationship (i.e. feed delivery). The
position of the nodes are important for determining how much
influence a certain node may have. The direct and indirect
connections between these nodes can be described and
illustrated.
A single feed supplier was: 1) linked with the spread of PED
2) directly connected to 8/9 case herds
3) had the greatest number of contacts with case herds
You don't have to put your pigs on Instagram to
understand your farm's contact patterns, instead you
can use network analysis!
