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Rupprecht CE, Buchanan T, Cliquet F, King R, Müller T, Yakobson B, Yang DK. A Global Perspective on Oral Vaccination of Wildlife against Rabies. J Wildl Dis 2024; 60:241-284. [PMID: 38381612 DOI: 10.7589/jwd-d-23-00078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2023] [Accepted: 01/03/2024] [Indexed: 02/23/2024]
Abstract
The long-term mitigation of human-domestic animal-wildlife conflicts is complex and difficult. Over the last 50 yr, the primary biomedical concepts and actualized collaborative global field applications of oral rabies vaccination to wildlife serve as one dramatic example that revolutionized the field of infectious disease management of free-ranging animals. Oral vaccination of wildlife occurred in diverse locales within Africa, Eurasia, the Middle East, and North America. Although rabies is not a candidate for eradication, over a billion doses of vaccine-laden baits distributed strategically by hand, at baiting stations, or via aircraft, resulted in widespread disease prevention, control, or local disease elimination among mesocarnivores. Pure, potent, safe, and efficacious vaccines consisted of either modified-live, highly attenuated, or recombinant viruses contained within attractive, edible baits. Since the late 1970s, major free-ranging target species have included coyotes (Canis latrans), foxes (Urocyon cinereoargenteus; Vulpes vulpes), jackals (Canis aureus; Lupulella mesomelas), raccoons (Procyon lotor), raccoon dogs (Nyctereutes procyonoides), and skunks (Mephitis mephitis). Operational progress has occurred in all but the latter species. Programmatic evaluations of oral rabies vaccination success have included: demonstration of biomarkers incorporated within vaccine-laden baits in target species as representative of bait contact; serological measurement of the induction of specific rabies virus neutralizing antibodies, indicative of an immune response to vaccine; and most importantly, the decreasing detection of rabies virus antigens in the brains of collected animals via enhanced laboratory-based surveillance, as evidence of management impact. Although often conceived mistakenly as a panacea, such cost-effective technology applied to free-ranging wildlife represents a real-world, One Health application benefiting agriculture, conservation biology, and public health. Based upon lessons learned with oral rabies vaccination of mesocarnivores, opportunities for future extension to other taxa and additional diseases will have far-reaching, transdisciplinary benefits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charles E Rupprecht
- College of Forestry, Wildlife and Environment, College of Veterinary Medicine, Auburn University, 602 Duncan Drive, Auburn, Alabama 36849, USA
| | - Tore Buchanan
- Wildlife Research and Monitoring Section, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, Trent University, 2140 East Bank Drive, Peterborough, Ontario K9L1Z8, Canada
| | - Florence Cliquet
- ANSES, Nancy Laboratory for Rabies and Wildlife, European Union Reference Laboratory for Rabies Serology, European Union Reference Laboratory for Rabies, WHO Collaborating Centre for Research and Management in Zoonoses Control, WOAH Reference Laboratory for Rabies, Technopôle Agricole et Vétérinaire, Domaine de Pixérécourt, CS 40009 Malzeville, France
| | - Roni King
- Israel Nature and Parks Authority, Am V'Olamo 3, Jerusalem 95463, Israel
| | - Thomas Müller
- Institute of Molecular Virology and Cell Biology, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, WHO Collaborating Centre for Rabies Surveillance and Research, WOAH Reference Laboratory for Rabies, Südufer 10, 17493 Greifswald-Insel Riems, Germany
| | - Boris Yakobson
- WOAH Reference Laboratory for Rabies, Kimron Veterinary Institute, Ministry of Agriculture, Derech HaMaccabim 62, Rishon Lezion, 50250, Israel
| | - Dong-Kun Yang
- Viral Disease Division, Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency, Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, 177, Hyeoksin 8-ro, Gimcheon-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do, 39660, Republic of Korea
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Beasley EM, Nelson KM, Slate D, Gilbert AT, Pogmore FE, Chipman RB, Davis AJ. Oral Rabies Vaccination of Raccoons (Procyon lotor) across a Development Intensity Gradient in Burlington, Vermont, USA, 2015-2017. J Wildl Dis 2024; 60:1-13. [PMID: 37972639 DOI: 10.7589/jwd-d-22-00117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2022] [Accepted: 06/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2023]
Abstract
Management of the raccoon rabies virus variant in North America is conducted primarily using oral rabies vaccination (ORV). When a sufficient proportion of the population is vaccinated (∼60%), rabies transmission can be eliminated. To date, ORV programs have successfully controlled and eliminated raccoon rabies in rural areas, but there has been less success in urban areas. We studied the proportions of rabies virus neutralizing antibodies (RVNA) in a raccoon (Procyon lotor) population during a 3-yr ORV trial in developed areas of Burlington, Vermont, US. We used a modified N-mixture model to estimate raccoon abundance, RVNA seroprevalence, and capture rates jointly to examine factors that relate to ORV success to better inform management. We found that raccoon abundance was lower in less-developed areas compared to urban centers. Raccoon RVNA seroprevalence decreased as population abundance increased; it increased as the average age of the population increased. Nontarget opossum (Didelphis virginiana) captures correlated with a decrease in raccoon RVNA seroprevalence in low-development areas, suggesting that they may be competing for baits. The target bait density across the entire study area was 150 baits/km2, but a hand baiting strategy was heavily concentrated on roads, resulting in uneven bait densities within sampling sites (0-484 baits/km2). Uneven bait distribution across the study area may explain low RVNA seroprevalence in some locations. Our results suggest that increases in bait density across the study area may improve RVNA seroprevalence and support annual ORV to account for raccoon population turnover.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily M Beasley
- University of Vermont, Department of Biology, 109 Carrigan Drive, Burlington, Vermont 05401, USA
- Current affiliation: Université de Montréal, Département de Sciences Biologiques, 1375 Avenue Thérèse-Lavoie-Roux, Montréal, Quebec H2V 0B3, Canada
- These authors contributed equally
| | - Kathleen M Nelson
- United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, National Rabies Management Program, 59 Chenell Drive, Suite 2, Concord, New Hampshire 03301, USA
- These authors contributed equally
| | - Dennis Slate
- United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, National Rabies Management Program, 59 Chenell Drive, Suite 2, Concord, New Hampshire 03301, USA
- Current affiliation: Chippewa Bay Wildlife Art and Science LLC, 1132 County Road 6, Hammond, New York 13646, USA
| | - Amy T Gilbert
- United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, National Wildlife Research Center, 4101 Laporte Avenue, Fort Collins, Colorado 80521, USA
| | - Frederick E Pogmore
- United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, 617 Comstock Road, Suite 9, Berlin, Vermont 05602, USA
| | - Richard B Chipman
- United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, National Rabies Management Program, 59 Chenell Drive, Suite 2, Concord, New Hampshire 03301, USA
| | - Amy J Davis
- United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, National Wildlife Research Center, 4101 Laporte Avenue, Fort Collins, Colorado 80521, USA
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Dettinger L, Gigante CM, Sellard M, Seiders M, Patel P, Orciari LA, Yager P, Lute J, Regec A, Li Y, Xia D. Detection of Apparent Early Rabies Infection by LN34 Pan-Lyssavirus Real-Time RT-PCR Assay in Pennsylvania. Viruses 2022; 14:v14091845. [PMID: 36146650 PMCID: PMC9504839 DOI: 10.3390/v14091845] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2022] [Revised: 08/12/2022] [Accepted: 08/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The Pennsylvania Department of Health Bureau of Laboratories (PABOL) tested 6855 animal samples for rabies using both the direct fluorescent antibody test (DFA) and LN34 pan-lyssavirus reverse transcriptase quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) during 2017–2019. Only two samples (0.03%) were initially DFA negative but positive by LN34 RT-qPCR. Both cases were confirmed positive upon re-testing at PABOL and confirmatory testing at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by LN34 RT-qPCR and DFA. Rabies virus sequences from one sample were distinct from all positive samples processed at PABOL within two weeks, ruling out cross-contamination. Levels of rabies virus antigen and RNA were low in all brain structures tested, but were higher in brain stem and rostral spinal cord than in cerebellum, hippocampus or cortex. Taken together, the low level of rabies virus combined with higher abundance in more caudal brain structures suggest early infection. These cases highlight the increased sensitivity and ease of interpretation of LN34 RT-qPCR for low positive cases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa Dettinger
- Bureau of Laboratories, Pennsylvania Department of Health, Exton, PA 19341, USA
| | - Crystal M. Gigante
- Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA
| | - Maria Sellard
- Bureau of Laboratories, Pennsylvania Department of Health, Exton, PA 19341, USA
| | - Melanie Seiders
- Bureau of Laboratories, Pennsylvania Department of Health, Exton, PA 19341, USA
| | - Puja Patel
- Bureau of Laboratories, Pennsylvania Department of Health, Exton, PA 19341, USA
| | - Lillian A. Orciari
- Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA
| | - Pamela Yager
- Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA
| | - James Lute
- Bureau of Laboratories, Pennsylvania Department of Health, Exton, PA 19341, USA
| | - Annette Regec
- Bureau of Laboratories, Pennsylvania Department of Health, Exton, PA 19341, USA
| | - Yu Li
- Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA
- Correspondence: (Y.L.); (D.X.)
| | - Dongxiang Xia
- Bureau of Laboratories, Pennsylvania Department of Health, Exton, PA 19341, USA
- Correspondence: (Y.L.); (D.X.)
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McClure KM, Bastille‐Rousseau G, Davis AJ, Stengel CA, Nelson KM, Chipman RB, Wittemyer G, Abdo Z, Gilbert AT, Pepin KM. Accounting for animal movement improves vaccination strategies against wildlife disease in heterogeneous landscapes. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2022; 32:e2568. [PMID: 35138667 PMCID: PMC9285612 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2568] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2021] [Revised: 08/28/2021] [Accepted: 10/15/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Oral baiting is used to deliver vaccines to wildlife to prevent, control, and eliminate infectious diseases. A central challenge is how to spatially distribute baits to maximize encounters by target animal populations, particularly in urban and suburban areas where wildlife such as raccoons (Procyon lotor) are abundant and baits are delivered along roads. Methods from movement ecology that quantify movement and habitat selection could help to optimize baiting strategies by more effectively targeting wildlife populations across space. We developed a spatially explicit, individual-based model of raccoon movement and oral rabies vaccine seroconversion to examine whether and when baiting strategies that match raccoon movement patterns perform better than currently used baiting strategies in an oral rabies vaccination zone in greater Burlington, Vermont, USA. Habitat selection patterns estimated from locally radio-collared raccoons were used to parameterize movement simulations. We then used our simulations to estimate raccoon population rabies seroprevalence under currently used baiting strategies (actual baiting) relative to habitat selection-based baiting strategies (habitat baiting). We conducted simulations on the Burlington landscape and artificial landscapes that varied in heterogeneity relative to Burlington in the proportion and patch size of preferred habitats. We found that the benefits of habitat baiting strongly depended on the magnitude and variability of raccoon habitat selection and the degree of landscape heterogeneity within the baiting area. Habitat baiting improved seroprevalence over actual baiting for raccoons characterized as habitat specialists but not for raccoons that displayed weak habitat selection similar to radiocollared individuals, except when baits were delivered off roads where preferred habitat coverage and complexity was more pronounced. In contrast, in artificial landscapes with either more strongly juxtaposed favored habitats and/or higher proportions of favored habitats, habitat baiting performed better than actual baiting, even when raccoons displayed weak habitat preferences and where baiting was constrained to roads. Our results suggest that habitat selection-based baiting could increase raccoon population seroprevalence in urban-suburban areas, where practical, given the heterogeneity and availability of preferred habitat types in those areas. Our novel simulation approach provides a flexible framework to test alternative baiting strategies in multiclass landscapes to optimize bait-distribution strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine M. McClure
- National Wildlife Research Center, Wildlife Services, Animal and Plant Health Inspection ServiceUnited States Department of AgricultureFort CollinsColoradoUSA
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and PathologyColorado State UniversityFort CollinsColoradoUSA
- Present address:
Hawai‘i Cooperative Studies UnitUniversity of Hawai‘i at HiloHiloHawai‘iUSA
| | - Guillaume Bastille‐Rousseau
- National Wildlife Research Center, Wildlife Services, Animal and Plant Health Inspection ServiceUnited States Department of AgricultureFort CollinsColoradoUSA
- Cooperative Wildlife Research LaboratorySouthern Illinois UniversityCarbondaleIllinoisUSA
| | - Amy J. Davis
- National Wildlife Research Center, Wildlife Services, Animal and Plant Health Inspection ServiceUnited States Department of AgricultureFort CollinsColoradoUSA
| | - Carolyn A. Stengel
- Wildlife Services, Animal and Plant Health Inspection ServiceUnited States Department of AgricultureConcordNew HampshireUSA
| | - Kathleen M. Nelson
- National Rabies Management Program, Wildlife Services, Animal and Plant Health Inspection ServiceUnited States Department of AgricultureConcordNew HampshireUSA
| | - Richard B. Chipman
- National Rabies Management Program, Wildlife Services, Animal and Plant Health Inspection ServiceUnited States Department of AgricultureConcordNew HampshireUSA
| | - George Wittemyer
- Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation BiologyColorado State UniversityFort CollinsColoradoUSA
| | - Zaid Abdo
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and PathologyColorado State UniversityFort CollinsColoradoUSA
| | - Amy T. Gilbert
- National Wildlife Research Center, Wildlife Services, Animal and Plant Health Inspection ServiceUnited States Department of AgricultureFort CollinsColoradoUSA
| | - Kim M. Pepin
- National Wildlife Research Center, Wildlife Services, Animal and Plant Health Inspection ServiceUnited States Department of AgricultureFort CollinsColoradoUSA
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VIRUS NEUTRALIZING ANTIBODY FOLLOWING ORAL RABIES VACCINATION OF RACCOONS (PROCYON LOTOR) ON SUBURBAN LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK, USA. J Wildl Dis 2021; 57:145-156. [PMID: 33635969 DOI: 10.7589/2018-02-035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2018] [Accepted: 03/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Vaccine-laden baits were distributed to interrupt and halt raccoon (Procyon lotor) rabies transmission in suburban Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, New York, US. Fishmeal polymer baits containing the RABORAL V-RG® vaccine were deployed with helicopters, bait stations, and vehicles at a target density of 250 baits/km2 during annual September campaigns (2006-10). Semiannual campaigns (500 baits/km2) were also initiated in a portion of the treatment zone (2007-09) in response to a persistent focus of rabid raccoons. The last enzootic case was reported in January 2009. The final vaccination campaign was completed in 2010. The raccoon variant of rabies virus is no longer circulating in Nassau or Suffolk counties. Significantly greater probabilities of raccoon seroconversion were observed in helicopter-deployed bait zones. The lowest probabilities of seroconversion were identified in vehicle and bait station-deployment bait zones, with a marginal advantage associated with bait-station deployment. Seroconversion was negatively associated with developed, medium-intensity areas and increasing human population density. Significantly higher rabies virus neutralizing antibody endpoint titrations were detected in helicopter and bait station-deployment zones.
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Johnson SR, Slate D, Nelson KM, Davis AJ, Mills SA, Forbes JT, VerCauteren KC, Gilbert AT, Chipman RB. Serological Responses of Raccoons and Striped Skunks to Ontario Rabies Vaccine Bait in West Virginia during 2012-2016. Viruses 2021; 13:v13020157. [PMID: 33499059 PMCID: PMC7912576 DOI: 10.3390/v13020157] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2020] [Revised: 01/15/2021] [Accepted: 01/21/2021] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Since the 1990s, oral rabies vaccination (ORV) has been used successfully to halt the westward spread of the raccoon rabies virus (RV) variant from the eastern continental USA. Elimination of raccoon RV from the eastern USA has proven challenging across targeted raccoon (Procyon lotor) and striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis) populations impacted by raccoon RV. Field trial evaluations of the Ontario Rabies Vaccine Bait (ONRAB) were initiated to expand ORV products available to meet the rabies management goal of raccoon RV elimination. This study describes the continuation of a 2011 trial in West Virginia. Our objective was to evaluate raccoon and skunk response to ORV occurring in West Virginia for an additional two years (2012–2013) at 75 baits/km2 followed by three years (2014–2016) of evaluation at 300 baits/km2. We measured the change in rabies virus-neutralizing antibody (RVNA) seroprevalence in targeted wildlife populations by comparing levels pre- and post-ORV during each year of study. The increase in bait density from 75/km2 to 300/km2 corresponded to an increase in average post-ORV seroprevalence for raccoon and skunk populations. Raccoon population RVNA levels increased from 53% (300/565, 95% CI: 50–57%) to 82.0% (596/727, 95% CI: 79–85%) during this study, and skunk population RVNA levels increased from 11% (8/72, 95% CI: 6–20%) to 39% (51/130, 95% CI: 31–48%). The RVNA seroprevalence pre-ORV demonstrated an increasing trend across study years for both bait densities and species, indicating that multiple years of ORV may be necessary to achieve and maintain RVNA seroprevalence in target wildlife populations for the control and elimination of raccoon RV in the eastern USA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shylo R. Johnson
- USDA/APHIS/WS/National Wildlife Research Center, 4101 LaPorte Ave., Fort Collins, CO 80521, USA; (A.J.D.); (K.C.V.); (A.T.G.)
- Correspondence:
| | - Dennis Slate
- USDA/APHIS/WS/National Rabies Management Program, 59 Chenell Dr., Concord, NH 03301, USA; (D.S.); (K.M.N.); (R.B.C.)
| | - Kathleen M. Nelson
- USDA/APHIS/WS/National Rabies Management Program, 59 Chenell Dr., Concord, NH 03301, USA; (D.S.); (K.M.N.); (R.B.C.)
| | - Amy J. Davis
- USDA/APHIS/WS/National Wildlife Research Center, 4101 LaPorte Ave., Fort Collins, CO 80521, USA; (A.J.D.); (K.C.V.); (A.T.G.)
| | - Samual A. Mills
- USDA/APHIS/Wildlife Services, 730 Yokum St., Elkins, WV 26241, USA; (S.A.M.); (J.T.F.)
| | - John T. Forbes
- USDA/APHIS/Wildlife Services, 730 Yokum St., Elkins, WV 26241, USA; (S.A.M.); (J.T.F.)
| | - Kurt C. VerCauteren
- USDA/APHIS/WS/National Wildlife Research Center, 4101 LaPorte Ave., Fort Collins, CO 80521, USA; (A.J.D.); (K.C.V.); (A.T.G.)
| | - Amy T. Gilbert
- USDA/APHIS/WS/National Wildlife Research Center, 4101 LaPorte Ave., Fort Collins, CO 80521, USA; (A.J.D.); (K.C.V.); (A.T.G.)
| | - Richard B. Chipman
- USDA/APHIS/WS/National Rabies Management Program, 59 Chenell Dr., Concord, NH 03301, USA; (D.S.); (K.M.N.); (R.B.C.)
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McClure KM, Gilbert AT, Chipman RB, Rees EE, Pepin KM. Variation in host home range size decreases rabies vaccination effectiveness by increasing the spatial spread of rabies virus. J Anim Ecol 2020; 89:1375-1386. [PMID: 31957005 PMCID: PMC7317853 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2018] [Accepted: 11/21/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Animal movement influences the spatial spread of directly transmitted wildlife disease through host-host contact structure. Wildlife disease hosts vary in home range-associated foraging and social behaviours, which may increase the spread and intensity of disease outbreaks. The consequences of variation in host home range movement and space use on wildlife disease dynamics are poorly understood, but could help to predict disease spread and determine more effective disease management strategies. We developed a spatially explicit individual-based model to examine the effect of spatiotemporal variation in host home range size on the spatial spread rate, persistence and incidence of rabies virus (RABV) in raccoons (Procyon lotor). We tested the hypothesis that variation in home range size increases RABV spread and decreases vaccination effectiveness in host populations following pathogen invasion into a vaccination zone. We simulated raccoon demography and RABV dynamics across a range of magnitudes and variances in weekly home range size for raccoons. We examined how variable home range size influenced the relative effectiveness of three components of oral rabies vaccination (ORV) programmes targeting raccoons-timing and frequency of bait delivery, width of the ORV zone and proportion of hosts immunized. Variability in weekly home range size increased RABV spread rates by 1.2-fold to 5.2-fold compared to simulations that assumed a fixed home range size. More variable host home range sizes decreased relative vaccination effectiveness by 71% compared to less variable host home range sizes under conventional vaccination conditions. We found that vaccination timing was more influential for vaccination effectiveness than vaccination frequency or vaccination zone width. Our results suggest that variation in wildlife home range movement behaviour increases the spatial spread and incidence of RABV. Our vaccination results underscore the importance of prioritizing individual-level space use and movement data collection to understand wildlife disease dynamics and plan their effective control and elimination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine M. McClure
- United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection ServiceNational Wildlife Research CenterFort CollinsCOUSA
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and PathologyColorado State UniversityFort CollinsCOUSA
- Present address:
Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability and the Cornell Wildlife Health CenterCornell UniversityIthacaNYUSA
| | - Amy T. Gilbert
- United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection ServiceNational Wildlife Research CenterFort CollinsCOUSA
| | - Richard B. Chipman
- United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection ServiceNational Rabies Management ProgramConcordNHUSA
| | - Erin E. Rees
- Land and Sea Systems Analysis Inc.GranbyQCCanada
- National Microbiology LaboratoryPublic Health Risk Sciences DivisionPublic Health Agency of CanadaSaint‐HyacintheQCCanada
| | - Kim M. Pepin
- United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection ServiceNational Wildlife Research CenterFort CollinsCOUSA
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EFFECT OF HIGH-DENSITY ORAL RABIES VACCINE BAITING ON RABIES VIRUS NEUTRALIZING ANTIBODY RESPONSE IN RACCOONS ( PROCYON LOTOR). J Wildl Dis 2018; 55:399-409. [PMID: 30507337 DOI: 10.7589/2018-05-138] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
From 2014 to 2016, we examined the effect of distributing oral rabies vaccine baits at high density (150 baits/km2) in an area of Virginia, US that was naïve to oral rabies vaccination prior to the study. We also compared the effect of baiting at high density in a naïve area to baiting at standard density (75 baits/km2) in an area that had been baited annually for 12 yr. Our results suggested that rabies virus seroconversion in raccoons ( Procyon lotor) gradually increased each year under the highdensity bait treatment. However, we did not detect a difference in seroconversion between bait density treatments. Virginia opossums ( Didelphis virginiana) were abundant in the study area and were a potentially important nontarget species that competed for oral rabies vaccine baits, but the ratio of opossums to raccoons in this study did not affect rabies virus neutralizing antibody response of the raccoon populations.
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Pedersen K, Schmit BS, DeLiberto TJ, Suckow JR, Davis AJ, Slate D, Chipman RB, Hale RL, Gilbert AT. Raccoon ( Procyon lotor) biomarker and rabies antibody response to varying oral rabies vaccine bait densities in northwestern Pennsylvania. Heliyon 2018; 4:e00754. [PMID: 30211329 PMCID: PMC6129686 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2018.e00754] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2018] [Revised: 07/06/2018] [Accepted: 08/22/2018] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Distribution of oral rabies vaccine baits has been used as a strategy for managing rabies in the United States since the 1990s. Since that time, efforts have been made to improve baiting strategies with a focus on bait density to maximize both efficiency and cost effectiveness. An optimal rabies management strategy includes a vaccine bait preferred by the target species that is distributed at the minimal density needed to achieve population immunity to prevent rabies spread. The purpose of our pilot study was to examine the effect of 75, 150, and 300 baits/km2 vaccine bait densities on rabies virus neutralizing antibody (RVNA) seroprevalence in raccoons (Procyon lotor). Raboral V-RG® fishmeal polymer baits (Merial Inc. (now a part of Boehringer Ingelheim), Athens, Georgia) contain a tetracycline biomarker that was used to estimate bait consumption as another measure of intervention impact. Our results suggest that raccoon RVNA response increases as bait density increases, but the effect may not be sufficient to justify the cost except in the case of contingency actions or an epizootic. Non-target species, especially opossums (Didelphis virginianus) in certain areas, should be considered when determining an appropriate bait density to ensure sufficient baits are available for consumption by the target species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kerri Pedersen
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, National Wildlife Research Center, 4101 LaPorte Avenue, Fort Collins, CO 80521, USA
| | - Brandon S. Schmit
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, National Wildlife Research Center, 4101 LaPorte Avenue, Fort Collins, CO 80521, USA
| | - Thomas J. DeLiberto
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, National Wildlife Research Center, 4101 LaPorte Avenue, Fort Collins, CO 80521, USA
| | - Jason R. Suckow
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, 2150 Centre Avenue, Building B, Fort Collins, CO 80526, USA
| | - Amy J. Davis
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, National Wildlife Research Center, 4101 LaPorte Avenue, Fort Collins, CO 80521, USA
| | - Dennis Slate
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, National Rabies Management Program, 59 Chenell Drive, Suite 2, Concord, New Hampshire 03301, USA
| | - Richard B. Chipman
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, National Rabies Management Program, 59 Chenell Drive, Suite 2, Concord, New Hampshire 03301, USA
| | - Robert L. Hale
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, 1777 Stagecoach Court, Powell, Ohio 43065, USA
| | - Amy T. Gilbert
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, National Wildlife Research Center, 4101 LaPorte Avenue, Fort Collins, CO 80521, USA
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Abstract
In the US, rabies virus (RV) has been enzootic in raccoons ( Procyon lotor) since the late 1940s. Oral rabies vaccination (ORV) was implemented in the 1990s to halt the spread of raccoon RV and continues to be used as a wildlife management tool. Our objective was to evaluate a recombinant human adenovirus-rabies virus glycoprotein vaccine in northern New York, Vermont, and New Hampshire over a 3-yr period, using changes in RV neutralizing antibody (RVNA) seroprevalence in raccoon populations as an immunologic index of ORV impact. Vaccine baits were distributed at 75 baits/km2 and 750-m flight-line spacing in the study area. Animal sampling occurred during 10-d intervals pre- and post-ORV during 2012-14 within eight study cells: four northern cells had a history of ORV with a different vaccine for 3 or more years prior and four southern cells were ORV naive. Baseline raccoon RVNA seroprevalence was 27.3% ( n=1,079, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 24.8-30.1) before ORV in 2012. Raccoon RVNA seroprevalence averaged 68.5% ( n=1,551, 95% CI: 66.2-70.8) post-ORV during the 3-yr study. The RVNA seroprevalence levels in this study were considered to be adequate for stopping raccoon RV transmission and supported and expanded the results from a West Virginia field trial, as well as earlier evaluations along the Canada-US border.
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