Cattle network.

Animal movements are a key factor in the spread of pathogens. Consequently, network analysis of animal movements is a well-developed and well-studied field. The relationships between animals facilitate the diffusion of infectious agents and, in particular, shared environments and close interactions can facilitate cross-species transmission. Cattle are often the focus of these studies since they are among the most widely distributed and traded species globally. This remains true for Italy as well, but with an important additional consideration. Indeed, another important productive reality in the peninsula is buffalo farming. These farms have an interesting characteristic: approximately two-thirds of them also rear cattle. This coexistence between cattle and buffalo could have an impact on the diffusion of pathogens. Given that buffalo farms are often overlooked in the literature, the primary goal of this work is to investigate the potential consequences of omitting buffalo from cattle network analyses. To investigate this impact, we will focus on Q fever, a disease that can infect both species and is present on the Italian territory and for which the impact of the buffalo population has not been thoroughly studied, and simulate its spread to the farms of both species through compartmental models. Our analysis reveals that despite the significant difference in network sizes, the unique characteristic of Italian buffalo farms makes the buffalo network essential for a comprehensive understanding of bovine disease dynamics in Italy.

动物流动是病原体传播的关键驱动因素。因此，针对动物流动的网络分析已发展为一门成熟且研究充分的领域。动物间的相互关联可推动病原体的扩散，尤其是共享饲养环境与密切接触，更易促成跨物种传播。牛类常为这类研究的重点对象，因其是全球分布最广、贸易量最大的畜禽物种之一，这一状况在意大利同样适用，但需补充一项重要的现实考量：意大利半岛的另一核心畜牧产业为水牛养殖，这类养殖场存在一项值得关注的特征——约三分之二的水牛养殖场同时饲养牛类。牛与水牛的混养模式可能会对病原体的传播产生潜在影响。鉴于现有文献往往忽略水牛养殖场，本研究的核心目标便是探究在牛类流动网络分析中未纳入水牛群体时可能产生的潜在影响。为探究该影响，本研究选取Q热（Q fever）作为研究对象：该疾病可感染牛与水牛两类宿主，且在意大利境内存在流行，目前学界尚未对水牛种群在该疾病传播中的作用开展充分研究；研究将通过隔室模型（compartmental models）模拟Q热在两类养殖场中的传播过程。分析结果表明，尽管两类流动网络的规模存在显著差异，但意大利水牛养殖场的独有特征使得水牛流动网络对于全面解析意大利牛类疾病的传播动态而言不可或缺。