Introduction to Biosecurity surveillance: quantitative approaches.

This book contains practical and innovative approaches to plant and animal biosecurity surveillance from Australia and around the world, using established and new methodologies, with a particular focus on the quantitative, particularly statistical, aspects of these methods. The book is structured in three parts. Part I supports the later parts of the book, by providing a foundation for describing the statistical modelling methods presented, as well as placing later chapters in the broader international context. The chapters in Parts II and III describe methods and supporting case studies that demonstrate and/or implement the techniques, tools and methods described. Each chapter focuses on particular aspects or concepts of surveillance and typically illustrates these using a case study. While the specifics differ among chapters, the following broad themes are commonly addressed in each chapter: (i) what is the big picture problem?; (ii) what are the main challenges for an evidence-based approach?; (iii) what are the main quantitative modelling solutions?; (iv) what are the main outcomes?; and (v) who is using this/how/why? In summary, this book can be used as a general reference to biosecurity surveillance, as well as a specific reference to frontier methodology used in biosecurity surveillance research and practice. It is hoped that the collation of current statistical modelling methodology that deals with common but complex biosecurity surveillance situations will not only provide informative reading, but will stimulate the identification of existing gaps in this methodology, and corresponding innovative statistical approaches to fill these gaps.