ELICITING THE RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF RISK-FACTORS CONCERNING CONTAGIOUS ANIMAL DISEASES USING CONJOINT-ANALYSIS - A PRELIMINARY SURVEY REPORT

Conjoint analysis is a technique well known in marketing research to e licit consumer preferences and opinions. This paper describes the resu lts of an experiment which explores the potential application of conjo int analysis in the field of veterinary epidemiology and economics. In this experiment, the method of conjoint analysis was used to elicit t he opinion of experts about the relative importance of risk factors co ncerning contagious animal diseases. Diseases studied were: African Sw ine Fever (ASF), Classical Swine Fever (CSF), Foot-and-Mouth Disease ( FMD), Swine Vesicular Disease (SVD), Newcastle Disease (NCD) and Avian Influenza (AI). Risk factors included were import of livestock, impor t of animal products, feeding of swill, tourists, returning livestock trucks and air. The conjoint analysis technique was used to draw up a questionnaire which was handed out during the 7th ISVEE held at Nairob i, Kenya, from 15 to 19 August 1994. According to the experts approach ed, the factors 'import of livestock' and 'import of animal products' were the major sources of risk for all diseases. For ASF, CSF and FMD, the risk factor 'swill feeding' ranked third. For FMD and the two pou ltry diseases NCD and AI, only the risk factor 'air' was important. Ov erall conclusion was that conjoint analysis could be a useful method f or eliciting the opinion of experts about risk factors concerning cont agious animal diseases. In further research, special attention should be given to the selection of experts and the presentation of the conjo int questions.