The Cattle Trading Network and Its Effect on the Spread of Brucellosis in Paraná, Brazil

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

This is a well-designed and written paper – it provides much needed data on farm level risk factors for brucellosis.

The paper is clear, relevant and presented in a well-structured manner. The cited references are mostly recent and relevant. The self-citations are necessary for the narrative of the article.

The hypothesis is sound, and the aim and objectives are clear and measurable using the chosen methodology. The introduction gives sufficient background for the study. The methods and analyses are clearly stated and appropriate to achieve the objectives. There is sufficient detail given to replicate the procedures and analyses. The results seem to be reproducible based on the details given in the methods section. Appropriate tables and figures are used, and results appropriately interpreted throughout the article.

The statistical analyses seem sound but may need an expert review.

The conclusions are consistent with the evidence and arguments presented.

Author Response

The authors thank you for your generous review.

Reviewer 2 Report

This study is well-conceived, but it could be improved by a thorough English review to make it more readable and clear.

Overall, the grammar in the article is generally clear, but some improvements can be made for clarity and readability, follow some suggestions.

The term "brucellosis infected farms" should be "brucellosis-infected farms" to indicate that the farms have been infected with brucellosis.

The sentences with "In-degree and out-degree" could be rephrased for clarity and to improve readability. For example: "Both in-degree and out-degree were found to be associated with brucellosis infection in farms (line 25).

The word "significatively" should be replaced with significantly (throughout the article).

"Alencar Mota et al." should be followed by a comma. (line 41).

Line 46, the word "strong" could be replaced with "significant" for clarity.

Line 48, the word "allows" could be replaced with "enables" for clarity.

Line 62, "holds the third highest milk production in the country" could be rephrased to improve readability. For example: "ranking third in terms of milk production in the country."

Author Response

The authors are grateful for the contribution of the reviewer.
A professional English review was applied and the issues pointed
out by the reviewer were fully addressed.

The term "brucellosis infected farms" should be "brucellosis-infected farms" to indicate that the farms have been infected with brucellosis.  – The term was reviewed throughout the text.

The sentences with "In-degree and out-degree" could be rephrased for clarity and to improve readability. For example: "Both in-degree and out-degree were found to be associated with brucellosis infection in farms (line 25). – The sentence was rephrased

The word "significatively" should be replaced with significantly (throughout the article). The term was reviewed throughout the text.

"Alencar Mota et al." should be followed by a comma. (line 41). The sentence was rephrased

Line 46, the word "strong" could be replaced with "significant" for clarity. – The term was reviewed as suggested.

Line 48, the word "allows" could be replaced with "enables" for clarity. The term was reviewed.

Line 62, "holds the third highest milk production in the country" could be rephrased to improve readability. For example: "ranking third in terms of milk production in the country." The sentence was rephrased

Reviewer 3 Report

“Trading network of cattle and its effect on the spread of brucellosis in Paraná, Brazil”

The authors assessed the association between cattle movement patterns and the spread of brucellosis amongst randomly-selected farms in Paraná, Brazil by calculating network parameters and comparing network’s metrics of brucellosis. Quadratic assignment procedure and multilinear regression were performed. The authors found that closer farms are more likely to trade and therefore share infection. Infected herds purchased and sold cattle more frequently than non-infected herds. The authors recommend a temporal network analysis to be conducted as well.

The manuscript is well-written, and the authors used valid methodology to reach the findings; these contribute towards and effective surveillance system for risk of brucellosis and control strategies against the disease.

Minor comments

L67. Brucella in italics

L75: species

Author Response

The authors are grateful for your kind review. 

Both minor comments were addressed. 

Reviewer 4 Report

Manuscritp ID: ruminants-2504136

General comments: This MS refers to " Trading Network of Cattle and Its Effect on the Spread of Brucellosis in Paraná, Brazil". It is a very interesting topic. Overall, the MS is well organized.

However, in my opinion some issues should be explained in detail:

- status of Brucellosis in Paraná and official measures applied to control this zoonosis since it is known that direct and indirect transmission occurs and thus movement of infected animals surely increases the transmission. This information woul be valuable to jutify the importance of the study in case of absence of control measures: For instance, in some countries where there is a control program, the trade of animals from infected herds in allowed only to slaughterhouses. So this point needs a more detailed clarification in my opinion.

- which are the main outcomes of this study? Whcih lesson can we learn? What can be done with this information obtained from your study?

Specific comments:

You can find them, as comments, in the attached file.

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

The english language must be revised bu a native engilh speaker.

Author Response

The authors are grateful for your contribution. 

A professional, extensive English review was applied. All the specific comments were addressed in the new version of the manuscript.

Please, see below the answers to the question raised in the review:

Q1 - Question 1: Infected farms are free regarding the movement of animals or there are restrictions?

Infected farms have movement restrictions, although only a very small part of infected farms is detected every year due to low levels of surveillance. Thus, the status of brucellosis for most of them is unknown. 

Question 2: OIE - from where did the authors obtain the data (WAHIS system? or from an official document?)

From their website https://www.woah.org/en/disease/brucellosis/

Line 66 (2.2. Farm-level brucellosis status) – we didn`t provide an extensive explanation regarding this study since it has been published as referenced.

which are the main outcomes of this study? Whcih lesson can we learn? What can be done with this information obtained from your study? 

The information provided offers insights into the drivers of the current endemic situation in the study area and more effectively informs future animal health policies. The study has identified and quantified a major risk for brucellosis which can be explored to enhance the surveillance and traceback the origin of infection.

Round 2

Reviewer 4 Report

Dear authors

Thank you for considering my suggestions. I added one suggestion in the introduction part to highlight the importance of your study.

Best regards,

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf