Network-based vaccination improves prospects for disease control in wild chimpanzees

Area of Science:

• Wildlife conservation
• Epidemiology
• Behavioral ecology

Background:

• Endangered wildlife are susceptible to infectious diseases, with vaccines available but large-scale application often impractical.
• Targeted vaccination strategies focusing on highly connected individuals could mitigate disease spread and reduce vaccine requirements.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the efficacy of targeted vaccination strategies in preventing large-scale disease outbreaks in endangered wildlife.
• To compare the effectiveness of targeting individuals based on social network connectivity versus observable traits.

Main Methods:

• Simulated pathogen transmission and control on monthly association networks derived from behavioral data of a wild chimpanzee community.
• Assessed vaccination strategies targeting the most connected individuals and individuals with specific traits (e.g., sex, age, dominance).

Main Results:

• Targeting the most connected individuals prevented large outbreaks using up to 35% fewer vaccines compared to random vaccination.
• A trait-based vaccination strategy, using easily collectible data, was effective, preventing outbreaks with up to 18% fewer vaccines than random vaccination.
• Individual traits can serve as reliable proxies for social connectivity in vaccination strategies.

Conclusions:

• Fine-scale behavioral and trait data are crucial for optimizing disease control and vaccination efforts in endangered wildlife populations.
• Targeted vaccination strategies offer a more efficient approach to disease prevention in wildlife compared to random methods.