Roadmap for nematode control strategies

Nematodes, like other infectious agents, are transmitted through shared contact with pasture, so contact networks between individual animals are less relevant to transmission than patterns of pasture utilisation, in relation to contamination patterns and climate (hence Host-Parasite-Environment interactions, see box 15).
Contact between host species, including wildlife, can influence transmission but is currently not usually estimated.
Effect of management and animal movement on gene flow between populations might be better understood by applying (group-pasture based) contact network approaches.

Integrate movement of livestock groups between pastures, including sharing of pastures between different stock classes, species and with wildlife, into epidemiological understanding and modelling.

Match population genetic data with movement / contact networks to validate models and/or to estimate contact rates.
Develop and apply molecular markers of infection and AR to track contact patterns and the role of contact networks in the spread of resistance.

Adapt network approaches to pasture-based contact and nematode transmission.
Develop molecular tools to enable network model validation.

Contact networks are well-established in disease transmission theory but need to be considerably adapted to the nematode situation and may or may not offer advantages over purely empirical approaches or existing transmission model frameworks.