Model of wildlife disease control: culling, vaccination and fertility
control
Journal
Ecological Modelling
-
Vol 150, Iss 1-2
,
15 Apr 2002, pp45-53
Authors
G. C. Smith and C. L. Cheeseman from the Central
Science Laboratory, Sand Hutton, York.
Abstract
Mathematical model for disease control in wildlife: culling, vaccination and fertility control.
Recent advances have permitted the red fox to be
vaccinated against rabies in order to control the European epidemic.
Vaccination is also the preferred long-term strategy for controlling btb in the
badger in England. We
discuss a model to compare the efficacy of various disease control strategies,
including temporary and permanent sterilisation. By using rabies and TB as
examples of acute and chronic diseases, the model shows that lethal control can
be more effective at disease eradication in an isolated population than
vaccination. This is due to the birth of larger numbers of susceptible
individuals during a vaccination campaign, which makes it harder to keep the
population below the critical threshold density. This difference was very marked
for the progressive disease of tb. The inclusion of an abortifacient
increased the chances of disease control to levels close to that of lethal
control. If the abortifacient is replaced by a permanent contraceptive then the
chances of disease eradication and population extinction were very similar to
that of lethal control, since the birth of susceptibles is now much reduced.
These results are also of relevance in the control of wildlife diseases in
threatened populations or species.
Keywords
Fox; Rabies; Badger; Bovine TB; Disease control;
Vaccination
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