Post-border surveillance techniques: review, synthesis and deployment

Post-border surveillance is undertaken for a variety of reasons: to give evidence that a pest or disease is absent from a country, region or defined area, thus enabling access to particular export markets; to detect new pests and diseases early enough to allow for cost-effective management; to establish the boundaries of a known pest or disease incursion; and to monitor the progress of existing containment or eradication programmes.

The body of literature in these four areas is largely aimed at improving post-border surveillance systems, although much of it is inaccessible to the biosecurity decision maker who is responsible for allocating resources for surveillance. Here we provide a classification system for discussing and comparing methods and tools that can assist with post-border surveillance, with a view to creating an accessible summary of available techniques. We also include a discussion of relevant statistical and economic concepts, methods for estimating detectability, and tools for decision making in the context of post-border surveillance.

The purpose of this report is to create an accessible summary of available tools to assist biosecurity managers with planning, implementation and evaluation of post-border surveillance activities. The tools range in character from rules-of–thumb and simple formulae, to simulation models with user-friendly interfaces.