Disease Simulation

Though a major foreign disease outbreak hasn’t happened yet in Nebraska, one could take place at any time. Farmers and ranchers need to take precautionary measures so that the state is ready if a major animal health emergency were to occur.

To demonstrate just how devastating a disease outbreak could be, a simulation of the statewide spread of foot and mouth disease has been created. The simulation was developed by the Center for Animal Disease Modeling and Surveillance at the University of California, Davis and is one of many simulations that have been run. The results of each simulation vary depending on factors such as wind, humidity, temperature, animal movements, etc.

PLEASE REMEMBER, THIS IS ONLY A SIMULATION.

View the FMD Simulation

This simulation was produced utilizing the DADS Model—an individual-based stochastic simulation that models disease movement through a livestock population in a bottom-up manner. That is, the model works by simulating contacts among individual animals within a herd and the interaction of those herds over a region based on data acquired from government or industry sources, questionnaires, expert opinion, interviews, and site visits.

If you would like to participate in a confidential survey being conducted by the UC Davis, please visit www.fmdsurvey.com. [insert hyperlink] This survey is not associated with the state of Nebraska or the National Animal Identification System and is kept confidential within UC Davis.