Cost-benefit analysis in animal disease control

摘要

Animal health economics is a relatively new discipline which is progressively developing a solid framework of concepts, procedures and data to support the decision making process in optimizing animal health management. Research in this field deals primarily with three interrelated aspects: (1) quantifying the financial effects of animal disease, (2) developing methods for optimizing decisions when individual animals, herds or populations are affected, and (3) determining the costs and benefits of disease control measures. In the paper the four most common economic modelling techniques in animal health economics (i.e. partial budgeting, cost-benefit analysis, decision analysis, and systems simulation) are described and applied on three levels of veterinary decision making: the animal, herd and national level. Outcomes so far are summarized, and shortcomings indicated and discussed. The importance of a close link between economics and epidemiology is stressed for future development, as well as the need for, and possibilities of, an international exchange of models and procedures.