Animal disease data presents many challenges. Specialists with expertise in both animal health and data analysis are needed to design experiments and interpret the data, and to translate the results to industry. The challenges become even greater with complex and specialized epidemiological or genetic analyses.

This Workshop aimed to facilitate the dialogue between disease experts and specialists in data analysis in order to learn each others’ terminology, and to identify common ground, as well as caveats. This workshop focussed on three contrasting disease categories: mastitis, gut health (e.g. E. coli or salmonella infections) and nematodes.

Each topic featured presentations by disease experts, who provided an overview of the disease and described the nature of the traits resulting from the disease, as well as statistical specialists who highlighted issues arising from the disease trait data and will present potential state-of-the-art solutions which take into consideration the needs of disease specialist. Each sessioned ended with an interactive discussion. This was a truly cross-fostering workshop in which experts from different fields learned from each others’ experiences.

Programme

Please click on highlighted titles to download a pdf of the presentation.  Please note that further presentations will be added as permission is obtained from speakers.

Monday 4th June 2007

• Welcome and introduction - Dirk-Jan de Koning and Stephen Bishop (Roslin Institute, UK)
• The application of survival analysis data - Vincent Ducrocq (INRA, France)

Session 1:  Mastitis
Chair: Henk Bovenhuis (Wageningen UR, NL)

• Nature of the traits resulting from mastitis - Pascal Rainard (INRA, France)
• Analysing and interpreting mastitis data: issues and challenges - Rachel Rupp (INRA, France)
• Mixture models for mastitis-related data - Jørgen Ødegård (Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Norway)
  Discussion:  Mastitis research questions, recommendations and possible solutions

Session 2: Gut health
Chair: Stephen Bishop (Roslin Institute, UK)

• Salmonella in chickens: three traits (and one parameter) in search of analysis - Paul Barrow (University of Nottingham, UK)
• The emergence of persistent fecal shedding patterns for verotoxinogenic Escherichia coli in slaughter calves - Dorte Dopfer (Animal Sciences Group, Wageningen UR, NL)
• Discussion:  Gut health research questions, recommendations and possible solutions
  

Tuesday 5th June 2007

Session 3:  Nematodes
Chair: Marco Pool (Animal Sciences Group, Wageningen UR, NL)

• Describing nematode infections and their consequences on production in grazing animals - Jos Houdijk (Scottish Agricultural College, UK)
• Nematode infection data analysis - Stephen Bishop (Roslin Institute, UK)
• Discussion: Nematode research questions, recommendations and possible solutions
  

Session 4:  General discussion
Discussion facilitator:  John Gibson (University of New England, Australia)