A SCORING MODEL FOR RISK CHARACTERISATION AND SETTING PRIORITIES IN VETERINARY PUBLIC HEALTH

A model for prioritization and risk characterization was developed for diseases of interest in veterinary public health. This model was called scorecard and focused on zoonosis and food safety at regional level. The scorecard was part of a shared initiative between Lombardy regional government and the Department of Veterinary Science and Public Health (University of Milan) aimed to improve veterinary regional services. A previous model (DISCONTOOLS) was used as starting point to develop the new one. Formalized Consensus Process approach involving academics and veterinary officers was used to develop the scorecard model. Furthermore, a guide and a form were settled in order lead the scoring process. Formalized Consensus Process is a five-step procedure which includes a systematic review of literature, an assessment of issues, initial proposals, a discussion and improvement of proposals and, finally, a validation of operational recommendations. The final scorecard model has a maximum theoretical score of 1,000; it includes several areas of interest, with different categories and coefficient of importance. The following areas were identified: relevance of the disease, socio-economic impact, impact on public health, impact on trade, impact on animal welfare, control tools. Scorecards were filled following available data, literature and expert opinions. From an initial list of 38 disease, 23 were scored. Among bovine diseases, mastitis (S. aureus) showed the highest score; among small ruminants Query fever was the highest, among swine diseases the highest was salmonellosis, while among other animal diseases toxoplasmosis had the highest score. This approach is conceived to aid professionals in risk prioritization, decision-making and to improve disease control systems at a regional level. It also allows to perform risk characterization in different backgrounds and to identify lacks of data in specific areas of interest for the diseases considered.