A very brief history of NAADSM

NAADSM has its origins in animal disease modeling efforts within the US Department of Agriculture's Centers for Epidemiology and Animal Health (CEAH), which date back nearly a decade. The animal disease modeling project at CEAH began with the evaluation of models developed elsewhere¹ and grew to encompass the creation of several versions of a new animal disease model for use in North America². Each of these new versions was developed with the primary objective of producing a comprehensive, user-friendly modeling application for the evaluation of control measures for foreign infectious animal diseases, preparedness planning, and training exercises.

Version 3.1 of NAADSM is latest in this line of animal disease models and is a much enhanced successor to earlier versions. This version has been developed through an international collaboration involving researchers in the United States and Canada, along with invaluable contributions from subject matter experts from all over the world.

NAADSM is still under active development: addition of new components and capabilities, as well as constant refinement of existing features, is ongoing. For more information about current NAADSM modeling activities, please contact one of the development team members.

References

^1. Garner, M.G., and Lack, M.B. 1995. An evaluation of alternate control strategies for foot-and-mouth disease in Australia: a regional approach. Prev. Vet. Med. 23: 9-32.

^2. Schoenbaum, M.A., and Disney, W.T. 2003. Modeling alternative mitigation strategies for a hypothetical outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the United States. Prev. Vet. Med. 58: 25-52.