Field experimental vaccination campaigns against myxomatosis and their effectiveness in the wild.
We conducted a field experiment in SW Spain to test the efficacy of a myxomatosis vaccine, a viral disease strongly affecting wild rabbit populations, by assessing individual survival and antibody seroprevalence of monthly live-trapped, vaccinated (N=466) and unvaccinated (N=558) juvenile wild rabbits, between April and October 2007. Eight percent of all juveniles caught from April to June showed maternal antibodies against myxomatosis, whereas all animals were seropositive to the disease after the outbreak. Juveniles vaccinated before the outbreak showed 17% higher survival (31% vs. 14%) and an increased mortality probability of 8% after the outbreak. Results suggest that only a costly and systematic vaccination performed before the annual myxomatosis outbreak, would improve the survival of juvenile rabbits, a premise not always accomplished that compromises its efficacy in the field.
Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos (CSIC-UCLM-JCCM), Ronda de Toledo, s/n, 13071 Ciudad Real, Spain.
Catarina
C
Ferreira
Esther
E
Ramírez
Francisca
F
Castro
Pablo
P
Ferreras
Paulo Célio
PC
Alves
Steve
S
Redpath
Rafael
R
Villafuerte
D000818:Animals; D000835:Animals, Wild / Q000276:immunology; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D009233:Myxoma virus / Q000276:immunology; D009234:Myxomatosis, Infectious / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011817:Rabbits / Q000276:immunology; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology; D014611:Vaccination; D014765:Viral Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000276:immunology
D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D014765:Viral Vaccines