This fully revised and expanded edition of Veterinary Epidemiology introduces readers to the field of veterinary epidemiology. The new edition also adds new chapters on the design of observational studies, validity in epidemiological studies, systematic reviews, and statistical modelling, to deliver more advanced material.

This updated edition begins by offering an historical perspective on the development of veterinary medicine. It then addresses the full scope of epidemiology, with  chapters covering causality, disease occurrence, determinants, disease patterns, disease ecology, and much more.

Veterinary Epidemiology, Fourth Edition:

?      Features updates of all chapters to provide a current resource on the subject of veterinary epidemiology

?      Presents new chapters essential to the continued advancement of the field

?      Includes examples from companion animal, livestock, and avian medicine, as well as aquatic animal diseases

?      Focuses on the principles and concepts of epidemiology, surveillance, and diagnostic-test validation and performance

?      Includes access to a companion website providing multiple choice questions

Veterinary Epidemiology is an invaluable reference for veterinary general practitioners, government veterinarians, agricultural economists, and members of other disciplines interested in animal disease. It is also essential reading for epidemiology students at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

Contributors xviii

From the preface to the first edition xix

From the preface to the second edition xx

From the preface to the third edition xxi

Preface to the fourth edition xxii

About the companion website xxiv

1 The development of veterinary medicine 1
Michael Thrusfield

2 The scope of epidemiology 28
Michael Thrusfield

3 Causality 42
Michael Thrusfield

4 Describing disease occurrence 58
Michael Thrusfield

5 Determinants of disease 86
Michael Thrusfield

6 The transmission and maintenance of infection 115
Michael Thrusfield

7 The ecology of disease 138
Michael Thrusfield

8 Patterns of disease 168
Michael Thrusfield

9 Comparative epidemiology 189
Michael Thrusfield

10 The nature of data 201
Michael Thrusfield

11 Data collection and management 219
Michael Thrusfield

12 Presenting numerical data 251
Michael Thrusfield and Robert Christley

13 Surveys 270
Michael Thrusfield and Helen Brown

14 Demonstrating association 296
Michael Thrusfield

15 Observational studies 319
Michael Thrusfield

16 Design considerations for observational studies 339
Robert Christley and Nigel French

17 Clinical trials 361
Michael Thrusfield

18 Validity in epidemiological studies 383
Robert Christley and Nigel French

19 Systematic reviews 397
Annette O’Connor, Jan Sargeant and Hannah Wood

20 Diagnostic testing 421
Michael Thrusfield

21 Surveillance 457
Michael Thrusfield

22 Statistical modelling 492
Robert Christley and Peter J. Diggle

23 Mathematical modelling 520
Michael Thrusfield

24 Risk analysis 540
Michael Thrusfield and Louise Kelly

25 Economics and veterinary epidemiology 565
Keith Howe and Michael Thrusfield

26 Health schemes 586
Michael Thrusfield

27 The control and eradication of disease 604
Michael Thrusfield

Appendices 635

References 694

Index 841