Economic evaluation of the eradication program for bovine viral diarrhea in the Swiss dairy sector

Thomann, B; Tschopp, A; Magouras, I; Meylan, M; Schüpbach-Regula, G; Häsler, B

Abstract

The aim of this study was to conduct an economic evaluation of the BVD eradication program in the Swiss dairy sector. The situation before the start of the program (herd-level prevalence: 20%) served as a baseline scenario. Production models for three dairy farm types were used to estimate gross margins as well as net production losses and expenditures caused by BVD. The total economic benefit was estimated as the difference in disease costs between the baseline scenario and the implemented eradication program and was compared to the total eradication costs in a benefit-cost analysis. Data on the impact of BVD virus (BVDV) infection on animal health, fertility and production parameters were obtained empirically in a retrospective epidemiological case-control study in Swiss dairy herds and complemented by literature. Economic and additional production parameters were based on benchmarking data and published agricultural statistics. The eradication costs comprised the cumulative expenses for sampling and diagnostics. The economic model consisted of a stochastic simulation in @Risk for Excel with 20,000 iterations and was conducted for a time period of 14 years (2008–2021).

Citation

Thomann, B., Tschopp, A., Magouras, I., Meylan, M., Schüpbach-Regula, G., & Häsler, B. (2017). Economic evaluation of the eradication program for bovine viral diarrhea in the Swiss dairy sector. Preventive Veterinary Medicine, 145, 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2017.05.020

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: May 21, 2017
• Publication Date: Sep 15, 2017
• Deposit Date: May 31, 2017
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 15, 2018
• Journal: PREVENTIVE VETERINARY MEDICINE
• Print ISSN: 0167-5877
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 145
• Pages: 1-6
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2017.05.020
• Public URL: https://rvc-repository.worktribe.com/output/1390532