About

Wendy Beauvais is an Assistant Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health at the Department of Comparative Pathobiology within Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine. She holds a BVetMed, MSc (VetEpi), and PhD, and is a Diplomate of the European College of Veterinary Public Health. Her educational background includes a BVetMed and further specialization through a residency in Veterinary Public Health, both from the Royal Veterinary College in the UK, along with a MSc in Veterinary Epidemiology from the same institution. Her professional experience encompasses roles such as Research Associate at Cornell University, Postdoctoral Associate at Cornell University, and a Research Assistant at the Royal Veterinary College and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. Her research interests focus on mathematical modeling, statistical analysis, infectious diseases, zoonoses, and antimicrobial resistance, with a particular emphasis on One Health approaches. She is actively involved in the academic community, serving as Vice President of Phi Zeta and contributing to veterinary public health initiatives.

Research topics

• Environmental health
• Business
• Medicine
• Agricultural science
• Biotechnology
• Biology
• Environmental science
• Microbiology
• Geography
• Marketing

Selected publications

• Interventions Targeting the Beef Feedlot Environment to Control Antimicrobial Resistance: A Mathematical Modelling Study

  Zoonoses and Public Health · 2026-04-10

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  ABSTRACT Introduction To address concerns about livestock as a source of antimicrobial‐resistant bacteria and genes, there have been many recent efforts worldwide to study prescribing practices, optimal antibiotic use, and alternatives to antibiotic use. However, there is empirical evidence supporting the persistence of antimicrobial resistance genes at high densities in cattle pens for at least 2 years after cattle were removed. Methods We describe a mathematical modelling framework to predict and explore the dynamics of antimicrobial‐resistant enteric bacteria in food‐producing animals and their immediate environments. Using the difference equation based compartmental modelling framework, we algebraically derive a formula for the relative rate of growth of antimicrobial‐resistant enteric bacteria in the environment ( R AMR ). Results We demonstrate that R AMR > 1 (i.e. , growth) of tetracycline‐resistant Escherichia coli in feedlot environments can occur under a range of plausible conditions, even in the absence of antimicrobial use in the feedlot cattle. Our model can reproduce data observed under field conditions showing rapid growth of tetracycline‐resistant E. coli in the environment despite no antimicrobials being used. Finally, we demonstrate that generic hygiene measures such as scraping pen floors are likely to reduce the density of tetracycline‐resistant E. coli in the farm environment considerably, especially in cold climates. Conclusions Farm environments such as beef cattle feedlots may be conducive to persistence or even growth of antimicrobial resistant bacteria under a wide range of plausible conditions, even in the absence of antimicrobial use. The system may be quite resilient, and even stringent cleaning will likely not be sufficient to eliminate resistant bacteria from the environment in some climates, especially where freeze–thaw cycles are uncommon.

  PublisherDOI

• Correction: Behavior-change interventions to improve antimicrobial stewardship in human health, animal health, and livestock agriculture: A systematic review

  PLOS Global Public Health · 2025-06-24

  reviewOpen accessSenior author

  [This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0001526.].

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Risk assessment of influenza transmission between workers and pigs on US indoor hog growing units

  Preventive Veterinary Medicine · 2024-05-24 · 3 citations

  articleSenior authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Knowledge, Health, and Social Drivers of Frozen Vegetable Consumption Practices Relevant to Listeriosis in Women of Childbearing Age

  Journal of Food Protection · 2024-06-12 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  In recent years, there have been numerous recalls of frozen vegetable products due to Listeria monocytogenes contamination, which causes listeriosis. In pregnant women, listeriosis can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, and other serious complications. Manufacturing guidelines are created with the intention that frozen vegetables will be cooked prior to consumption. However, consumers may prepare and eat frozen vegetables without prior cooking. Therefore, it is necessary to assess behaviors that could be risky for L. monocytogenes exposure. A 10-question online survey was distributed to women between the ages of 18-54 to investigate frozen vegetable consumption behaviors. The prevalence of uncooked frozen vegetable consumption, reading preparation instructions, and listeriosis knowledge was assessed. Data were analyzed using logistic and ordered logit regression. Of 1,001 complete responses, 531 (53%) indicated that they consumed frozen vegetables in the past week, and of those 35.6% (n = 189) indicated that they consumed frozen vegetables without prior heating. Women who had not heard of listeriosis and had not read preparation instructions had significantly higher odds of uncooked frozen vegetable consumption (Odds Ratio (OR): 2.30, 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 1.48, 3.55; OR: 1.85, 95% CI: 1.13, 3.01, respectively). These results will guide future research on safe food handling practices for frozen vegetable products. The findings support the need for updating public health guidelines to include frozen vegetables as foods that are risky for listeriosis in pregnancy. Additionally, these findings have implications for future research to inform food policy governing labeling regulation on frozen vegetable products to reflect current consumer behavior.

  PublisherDOI

• Correction: Behavior-change interventions to improve antimicrobial stewardship in human health, animal health, and livestock agriculture: A systematic review

  PLOS Global Public Health · 2024-02-05 · 1 citations

  reviewOpen accessSenior author

  [This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0001526.].

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Modelling dynamics between free‐living amoebae and bacteria

  Environmental Microbiology · 2024-05-01 · 9 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Free-living amoebae (FLA) serve as hosts for a variety of endosymbionts, which are microorganisms that reside and multiply within the FLA. Some of these endosymbionts pose a pathogenic threat to humans, animals, or both. The symbiotic relationship with FLA not only offers these microorganisms protection but also enhances their survival outside their hosts and assists in their dispersal across diverse habitats, thereby escalating disease transmission. This review is intended to offer an exhaustive overview of the existing mathematical models that have been applied to understand the dynamics of FLA, especially concerning their interactions with bacteria. An extensive literature review was conducted across Google Scholar, PubMed, and Scopus databases to identify mathematical models that describe the dynamics of interactions between FLA and bacteria, as published in peer-reviewed scientific journals. The literature search revealed several FLA-bacteria model systems, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Pasteurella multocida, and Legionella spp. Although the published mathematical models account for significant system dynamics such as predator-prey relationships and non-linear growth rates, they generally overlook spatial and temporal heterogeneity in environmental conditions, such as temperature, and population diversity. Future mathematical models will need to incorporate these factors to enhance our understanding of FLA-bacteria dynamics and to provide valuable insights for future risk assessment and disease control measures.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Modelling the control of bovine brucellosis in India

  Journal of The Royal Society Interface · 2023-03-01 · 11 citations

  articleOpen access

  Brucellosis imposes substantial impacts on livestock production and public health worldwide. A stochastic, age-structured model incorporating herd demographics was developed describing within- and between-herd transmission of Brucella abortus in dairy cattle herds. The model was fitted to data from a cross-sectional study conducted in Punjab State of India and used to evaluate the effectiveness of control strategies under consideration. Based on model results, stakeholder acceptance and constraints regarding vaccine supply, vaccination of replacement calves in large farms should be prioritized. Test and removal applied at early stages of the control programme where seroprevalence is high would not constitute an effective or acceptable use of resources because significant numbers of animals would be ‘removed’ (culled or not used for breeding) based on false positive results. To achieve sustained reductions in brucellosis, policymakers must commit to maintaining vaccination in the long term, which may eventually reduce frequency of infection in the livestock reservoir to a low enough level for elimination to be a realistic objective. This work provides key strategic insights into the control of brucellosis in India, which has the largest cattle population globally, and a general modelling framework for evaluating control strategies in endemic settings.

  PublisherDOI

• Behavior-change interventions to improve antimicrobial stewardship in human health, animal health, and livestock agriculture: A systematic review

  medRxiv · 2023-01-05 · 6 citations

  reviewOpen accessSenior author

  Abstract Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is an economic, food security, and global health threat that is driven by a multitude of factors including the overuse and misuse of antimicrobials in the human health, animal health, and agriculture sectors. Given the rapid emergence and spread of AMR and the relative lack of development of new antimicrobials or alternative therapies, there is a need to develop and implement non-pharmaceutical AMR mitigation policies and interventions that improve antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) practices across all sectors where antimicrobials are used. We conducted a systematic literature review per the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines to identify peer-reviewed studies that described behavior-change interventions that aimed to improve AMS and/or reduce inappropriate antimicrobial use in the human health, animal health, and livestock agriculture stakeholders. We identified 301 total publications – 11 in the animal health sector and 290 in the human health sector – and assessed these interventions using metrics across five thematic areas- (1) antimicrobial use (AMU), (2) adherence to clinical guidelines, (3) AMS, (4) AMR, and (5) clinical outcomes. The lack of studies in the animal health sector precluded a meta-analysis. Among studies in the human health sector, 35.7% reported significant (p<0.05) pre- to post-intervention decreases in AMU, 73.7% reported significant improvements in adherence of antimicrobial therapies to clinical guidelines, 45% demonstrated significant improvements in AMS practices, 45.5% reported significant decreases in the proportion of isolates that were resistant to antibiotics or the proportion of patients with drug-resistant infections across 17 antimicrobial-organism combinations, and few studies reported statistically significant changes in clinical outcomes. We did not identify any overarching intervention type nor characteristics associated with successful improvement in AMS, AMR, AMU, adherence, nor clinical outcomes.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• A stochastic compartmental model to simulate intra- and inter-species influenza transmission in an indoor swine farm

  PLoS ONE · 2023-05-04 · 4 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  Common in swine production worldwide, influenza causes significant clinical disease and potential transmission to the workforce. Swine vaccines are not universally used in swine production, due to their limited efficacy because of continuously evolving influenza viruses. We evaluated the effects of vaccination, isolation of infected pigs, and changes to workforce routine (ensuring workers moved from younger pig batches to older pig batches). A Susceptible-Exposed-Infected-Recovered model was used to simulate stochastic influenza transmission during a single production cycle on an indoor hog growing unit containing 4000 pigs and two workers. The absence of control practices resulted in 3,957 pigs [0-3971] being infected and a 0.61 probability of workforce infection. Assuming incoming pigs had maternal-derived antibodies (MDAs), but no control measures were applied, the total number of infected pigs reduced to 1 [0-3958] and the probability of workforce infection was 0.25. Mass vaccination (40% efficacious) of incoming pigs also reduced the total number of infected pigs to 2362 [0-2374] or 0 [0-2364] in pigs assumed to not have MDAs and have MDAs, respectively. Changing the worker routine by starting with younger to older pig batches, reduced the number of infected pigs to 996 [0-1977] and the probability of workforce infection (0.22) in pigs without MDAs. In pigs with MDAs the total number of infected pigs was reduced to 0 [0-994] and the probability of workforce infection was 0.06. All other control practices alone, showed little improvement in reducing total infected pigs and the probability of workforce infection. Combining all control strategies reduced the total number of infected pigs to 0 or 1 with a minimal probability of workforce infection (<0.0002-0.01). These findings suggest that non-pharmaceutical interventions can reduce the impact of influenza on swine production and workers when efficacious vaccines are unavailable.

  PublisherDOI

• Behavior-change interventions to improve antimicrobial stewardship in human health, animal health, and livestock agriculture: A systematic review

  PLOS Global Public Health · 2023-05-08 · 15 citations

  reviewOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is an economic, food security, and global health threat accelerated by a multitude of factors including the overuse and misuse of antimicrobials in the human health, animal health, and agriculture sectors. Given the rapid emergence and spread of AMR and the relative lack of development of new antimicrobials or alternative therapies, there is a need to develop and implement non-pharmaceutical AMR mitigation policies and interventions that improve antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) practices across all sectors where antimicrobials are used. We conducted a systematic literature review per the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines to identify peer-reviewed studies that described behavior-change interventions that aimed to improve AMS and/or reduce inappropriate antimicrobial use (AMU) among human health, animal health, and livestock agriculture stakeholders. We identified 301 total publications- 11 in the animal health sector and 290 in the human health sector-and assessed described interventions using metrics across five thematic areas- (1) AMU, (2) adherence to clinical guidelines, (3) AMS, (4) AMR, and (5) clinical outcomes. The lack of studies describing the animal health sector precluded a meta-analysis. Variation across intervention type, study type, and outcome precluded a meta-analysis for studies describing the human health sector; however, a summary descriptive analysis was conducted. Among studies in the human health sector, 35.7% reported significant (p<0.05) pre- to post-intervention decreases in AMU, 73.7% reported significant improvements in adherence of antimicrobial therapies to clinical guidelines, 45% demonstrated significant improvements in AMS practices, 45.5% reported significant decreases in the proportion of isolates that were resistant to antibiotics or the proportion of patients with drug-resistant infections across 17 antimicrobial-organism combinations. Few studies reported significant changes in clinical outcomes. We did not identify any overarching intervention type nor characteristics associated with successful improvement in AMS, AMR, AMU, adherence, nor clinical outcomes.

  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Renata Ivanek

  New York State College of Veterinary Medicine

  22 shared

• Javier Guitián

  Universidade de Santiago de Compostela

  19 shared

• Amelia Greiner Safi

  19 shared

• Michelle Wemette

  Cornell University

  18 shared

• P. Moroni

  University of Milan

  16 shared

• Michael A. Shapiro

  Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters

  12 shared

• Jessie Usaga

  Universidad de Costa Rica

  9 shared

• Richard Kock

  9 shared

Labs

• Infectious Diseases Epidemiology LabPI

Awards & honors

• Member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (2007-Pre…