category_news
WUR researchers design cross-disciplinary framework for better zoonotic disease preparedness
How can we prepare more effectively for zoonotic disease outbreaks in a country like the Netherlands, where people and farm animals live close together? Using swine influenza as an example, a team of researchers from different fields at Wageningen University & Research (WUR) developed a new framework. This framework combines behavioural science and disease modelling to better understand how farmers might respond to an outbreak—especially how quickly they would recognise symptoms and contact a vet.
Linking behaviour and disease control
Good outbreak preparedness means combining knowledge about behaviour with disease modelling. Human behaviour—shaped by personal beliefs, social norms and rules—is key in spotting and managing diseases early. Using the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), the WUR team created a framework that helps predict how farmers might act when faced with a zoonotic disease like swine influenza.
A tool for prevention
The researchers focused on one goal: early detection and quick reporting of sick pigs with a possible zoonotic disease. They linked actions like spotting symptoms and calling a vet to key behavioural drivers from the TPB. At the same time, they used disease models to estimate how easily the disease could spread between farms.
Experts gave input to estimate how likely different types of farmers were to take action. Then, the researchers ran simulations to see how effective certain measures could be in different outbreak situations.
What the model showed
The framework suggested that 95% of farmers would report sick animals to their vet within 13 days after infection. Important factors that influenced this included how well the farmer could recognise symptoms and how much the disease had already spread. The type of farmer also played a role in how likely they were to act. Surprisingly, knowing that people could also get sick from the disease had little effect on how quickly farmers responded.
The spread of the disease before reporting was most influenced by farm density and assumptions about how easily the virus could pass from one farm to another.
Why teamwork matters
The new framework made it possible to bring together different kinds of expertise. “This research shows the value of working across disciplines,” says Michel Counotte of Wageningen Bioveterinary Research, one of the project partners. “By linking social science with disease modelling and epidemiology, we created tools that are better suited for real-world use in policy and preparedness.”
Acknowledgement
The findings from the swine influenza case study were recently published in the scientific journal One Health (Volume 20, June 2025). The research was funded by the ERRAZE programme and the Dutch Ministries of Agriculture (LNV) and Health (VWS).