A simulation model to determine the economic value of changing diagnostic characteristics for identifying bovine respiratory disease

Abstract

Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is an economically important syndrome in the beef industry, and diagnostic accuracy is important for optimal disease management. Diagnostic test improvements are typically focused on changing sensitivity or specificity, but enhancement in both simultaneously is rare. The research objective was to determine whether improving diagnostic sensitivity or specificity was of greater economic value at varied levels of BRD prevalence by the use of Monte Carlo simulation.