Simulated Foot-and-Mouth Disease Outbreak Metrics for U.S. Cattle Contact Tracing

A simulation study evaluating the impact of improved cattle traceability on Foot-and-Mouth Disease outbreaks in the United States. The dataset, authored by MaRyka Renae Smith and last updated in May 2026, contains results from scenarios varying starting location, farm type, detection day, and tracing level. It assesses outcome metrics such as infected premises, outbreak duration, and the number of farms under surveillance.

Use Cases

• Compare outbreak size and duration based on different detection days and tracing levels as described in the simulation scenarios.
• Evaluate the impact of reducing the geographical size of control areas and surveillance zones on outbreak metrics.
• Model the potential benefits of electronic identification (EID) systems for cattle traceability during a disease outbreak.

Strengths

• Simulation scenarios are defined by multiple concrete parameters: six starting states, four farm types, three detection days, and three tracing levels.
• Outcome metrics are clearly defined, including infected premises, outbreak duration, and number of farms under surveillance or in control areas.
• Results include statistical analysis using bootstrap confidence interval estimation.

Limitations

• Dataset is small (113.5 KB), suggesting limited scope or aggregated summary data rather than raw simulation outputs.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for detailed statistical modeling.

Provenance

Source

figshare

Collection Method

Simulated using InterSpread Plus (ISP) with a U.S. national livestock population file and animal movement parameters.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-05 04:15:04; freshness should be verified.

Geography

United States (simulations start in California, Nebraska, Texas, New Mexico, New York, and Tennessee)