Controlling Campylobacter in the chicken meat chain; Estimation of intervention costs

Campylobacter infections are a serious public health problem in the Netherlands. As a part of the CARMA project, this study focus on the estimation of the potential direct costs related to the implementation of various intervention measures to control campylobacters in the chicken meat chain. Costs were estimated using a second-order stochastic simulation model. Treating only positively tested flocks is far cheaper than treating all flocks. The implementation of equipment to reduce faecal leakage would be the cheapest, while irradiation would be costliness. However, indirect costs for the various interventions, if occurring, would be far higher than the estimated direct costs.