Identifying reservoirs of infection: a conceptual and practical challenge

Area of Science:

• Veterinary Epidemiology
• Disease Ecology
• Infectious Disease Dynamics

Background:

• Emerging infectious diseases often involve pathogens with multiple host species.
• Effective disease control hinges on managing pathogen reservoirs.
• Current definitions of reservoirs are often imprecise and lack clear operational criteria.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a refined, population-centric definition of a pathogen reservoir.
• To establish criteria for identifying and confirming the existence of a reservoir.
• To clarify the practical implications of reservoir identification for disease control.

Main Methods:

• Conceptual framework development based on epidemiological connectivity.
• Definition of a reservoir relative to a defined target population.
• Criteria for reservoir confirmation through elimination of transmission pathways.

Main Results:

• A reservoir is defined as populations/environments where a pathogen is permanently maintained and transmitted to a target population.
• Reservoir existence is confirmed if target population infection cannot be sustained after eliminating non-target transmission.
• Disease control may not require detailed knowledge of reservoir dynamics if interventions are confined to the target population.

Conclusions:

• A precise definition of pathogen reservoirs, linked to target populations, is essential for effective disease management.
• The proposed definition provides a framework for identifying and managing reservoirs of multihost pathogens.
• Understanding reservoir dynamics is crucial, but the level of detail needed depends on the chosen control strategy.