TB-infected deer are more closely related than non-infected deer.
Identifying mechanisms of pathogen transmission is critical to controlling disease. Social organization should influence contacts among individuals and thus the distribution and spread of disease within a population. Molecular genetic markers can be used to elucidate mechanisms of disease transmission in wildlife populations without undertaking detailed observational studies to determine probable contact rates. Estimates of genealogical relationships within a bovine tuberculosis-infected white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) population indicated that infected deer were significantly more closely related than non-infected deer suggesting that contact within family groups was a significant mechanism of disease transmission. Results demonstrate that epidemiological models should incorporate aspects of host ecology likely to affect the probability of disease transmission.
Blanchong
Julie A
JA
Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, 13 Natural Resources Building, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA. jablanchong@wisc.edu
Scribner
Kim T
KT
Kravchenko
Alexandra N
AN
Winterstein
Scott R
SR
D000818:Animals; D003670:Deer / Q000235:genetics / Q000382:microbiology*; D005260:Female; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats; D009163:Mycobacterium bovis; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000635:transmission / Q000662:veterinary*