Estimation of individual-level pathogen prevalences from pooled samples
Individual-level prevalences of pathogens detected in pooled samples were estimated by a maximum likelihood approach in a frequentist model. True prevalence estimates within vector populations assumed 100% sensitivity and specificity of pooled-sample results and took into account the number of individuals in each pool tested (Cowling et al. 1999; Williams & Moffitt, 2001). The computations were performed online using Epitools an epidemiological calculator accessed from https://epitools.ausvet.com.au/ppvariablepoolsize (Sergeant, 2009).