Vaccination Is a Suitable Tool in the Control of Aujeszky’s Disease Outbreaks in Pigs Using a Population Dynamics P Systems Model

摘要

Maximizing the efficiency of pork production in line with sustainability and environmental restrictions presents a challenge for the pig industry in the coming years. It is necessary to develop practices based on cost/benefit analyses of the effects of disease on animal performance. Diseases can be controlled in various ways, such as vaccination programs and management protocols, among others, to control pathogens. We have developed a model to disentangle the effects of management and vaccination strategies to control one of the most important pig viral diseases, Aujeszky disease. Our results suggest that after confirming the diagnosis, early vaccination of most of the population is critical to decrease the spread of the virus and minimize its impact on pig productivity. However, the effect of management is negligible for the control of this virus. Thus, this model can be used to evaluate preventive medicine programs in the control of known diseases and for new ones that could appear in the future.