Fluorescent biomarkers demonstrate prospects for spreadable vaccines to control disease transmission in wild bats

Bakker, K. M., Rocke, T. E., Osorio, J. E., Abbott, R. C., Tello, C., Carrera, J., Valderrama, W., Shiva, C., Falcon, N. and Streicker, D. G. (2019) Fluorescent biomarkers demonstrate prospects for spreadable vaccines to control disease transmission in wild bats. Nature Ecology and Evolution, 3, pp. 1697-1704. (doi: 10.1038/s41559-019-1032-x) (PMID:31740844) (PMCID:PMC6887541)

Abstract

Vaccines that autonomously transfer among individuals have been proposed as a strategy to control infectious diseases within inaccessible wildlife populations. However, rates of vaccine spread and epidemiological efficacy in real-world systems remain elusive. Here, we investigate whether topical vaccines that transfer among individuals through social contacts can control vampire bat rabies—a medically and economically important zoonosis in Latin America. Field experiments in three Peruvian bat colonies, which used fluorescent biomarkers as a proxy for the bat-to-bat transfer and ingestion of an oral vaccine, revealed that vaccine transfer would increase population-level immunity up to 2.6 times beyond the same effort using conventional, non-spreadable vaccines. Mathematical models showed that observed levels of vaccine transfer would reduce the probability, size and duration of rabies outbreaks, even at low but realistically achievable levels of vaccine application. Models further predicted that existing vaccines provide substantial advantages over culling bats—the policy currently implemented in North, Central and South America. Linking field studies with biomarkers to mathematical models can inform how spreadable vaccines may combat pathogens of health and conservation concern before costly investments in vaccine design and testing.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: K.M.B. was supported by NIH award F32AI134016, and computational resources were provided by NIH award U01GM110712. D.G.S. was supported by a Sir Henry Dale Fellowship that was jointly funded by the Wellcome Trust and Royal Society (102507/Z/13/Z). Additional funding was provided via a Challenge Grant from the Royal Society to D.G.S., T.E.R., J.E.O., C.S. and N.F. (CH160097)
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Streicker, Professor Daniel
• Authors: Bakker, K. M., Rocke, T. E., Osorio, J. E., Abbott, R. C., Tello, C., Carrera, J., Valderrama, W., Shiva, C., Falcon, N., and Streicker, D. G.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine
• Journal Name: Nature Ecology and Evolution
• Publisher: Nature Research
• ISSN: 2397-334X
• ISSN (Online): 2397-334X
• Published Online: 18 November 2019
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © The Authors, under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited 2019
• First Published: First published in Nature Ecology and Evolution 3:1697-1704
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the publisher copyright policy
• Data DOI: 10.5061/dryad.64t161m

Project Code	Award No	Project Name	Principal Investigator	Funder's Name	Funder Ref	Lead Dept
169793		Managing viral emergence at the interface of bats and livestock	Daniel Streicker	Wellcome Trust (WELLCOTR)	102507/Z/13/ZR	Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine