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bioRxiv · 10.1101/129064

Estimating Wildlife Vaccination Coverage Using Genetic Methods

Smith, F.·Robertson, A.·Smith, G. C.·Gill, P.·McDonald, R. A.·Wilson, G.·Delahay, R.
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Abstract

Vaccination is a potentially useful approach for the control of disease in wildlife populations. The effectiveness of vaccination is contingent in part on obtaining adequate vaccine coverage at the population level. However, measuring vaccine coverage in wild animal populations is challenging and so there is a need to develop robust approaches to estimate coverage and so contribute to understanding the likely efficacy of vaccination.\n\nWe used a modified capture mark recapture technique to estimate vaccine coverage in a wild population of European badgers (Meles meles) vaccinated by live-trapping and injecting with Bacillus Calmette-Guerin as part of a bovine tuberculosis control initiative in Wales, United Kingdom. Our approach used genetic matching of vaccinated animals to a sample of the wider population to estimate the percentage of badgers that had been vaccinated. Individual-specific genetic profiles were obtained using microsatellite genotyping of hair samples which were collected both directly from trapped and vaccinated badgers and non-invasively from the wider population using hair traps deployed at badger burrows.\n\nWe estimated the percentage of badgers vaccinated in a single year and applied this to a simple model to estimate cumulative vaccine coverage over a four year period, corresponding to the total duration of the vaccination campaign.\n\nIn the year of study, we estimated that between 44-65% (95% confidence interval, mean 55%) of the badger population received a vaccine dose. Using the model, we estimated that 70-85% of the total population would have received at least one vaccine dose over the course of the four year vaccination campaign.\n\nThis study represents the first application of this novel approach for measuring vaccine coverage in wildlife. This is also the first attempt at quantifying the level of vaccine coverage achieved by trapping and injecting badgers. The results therefore have specific application to bovine tuberculosis control policy, and the approach is of significance to the wider field of wildlife vaccination.

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Smith, F., Robertson, A., Smith, G. C., Gill, P., McDonald, R. A., Wilson, G., Delahay, R.. 2017-04-20. Estimating Wildlife Vaccination Coverage Using Genetic Methods. https://doi.org/10.1101/129064

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