A modelling assessment of the impact of control measures on highly pathogenic avian influenza transmission in poultry in Great Britain
Date:
Event webpage
Find our more information about the European Conference on Mathematical and Theoretical Biology (ECMTB) 2026 here: https://ecmtb2026.org
Event overview
The European Conference on Mathematical and Theoretical Biology (ECMTB) is held every two years. It acts as a conduit of discussion for the field of mathematical biology, aiding researchers to study and understand the complex mechanisms that govern life processes. ECTMB was first held in 1991 in Grenoble, France. Over the years, the ECMTB conference has grown in size and scope, attracting researchers from all over the world. ECMTB has promoted interdisciplinary collaborations between mathematicians, biologists, physicists, and other researchers. ECMTB has also facilitated the development of new techniques and methodologies for modelling complex biological systems.
Talk content
Highly pathogenic avian influenza is an infectious disease that has caused a substantial number of outbreaks in bird populations around the world. This includes poultry populations in Great Britain, where the largest number of infected poultry premises were reported in the 2022–23 season. This identifies the need for mathematical models to be calibrated to outbreak data, such that we can have a greater understanding of the disease transmission process and the potential measures that could be used to avert future infections. My talk overviewed a model developed to describe temporal changes in avian influenza infections in poultry premises in Great Britain over the course of an epidemic season. The model has been used to simulate reactive enhanced control strategies that reduce susceptibility of poultry to show that there is potentially a large benefit in localised interventions around an infected poultry premises to reduce further transmission. These results underscore the need for effective control strategies to limit the continued circulation of avian influenza and the threat to public health.
For further information please see the associated publication in PLOS Computational Biology.
Presentation slides
You can download a PDF copy of the presentation slides here.