Field experimental vaccination campaigns against myxomatosis and their effectiveness in the wild |
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| Authors: | Catarina Ferreira,Esther Ramí rez,Francisca Castro,Pablo Ferreras,Paulo Cé lio Alves,Steve Redpath,Rafael Villafuerte |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos (CSIC-UCLM-JCCM), Ronda de Toledo, s/n, 13071 Ciudad Real, Spain;2. CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Campus Agrário de Vairão, Universidade do Porto, 4485-661 Vairão, Portugal;3. Departamento de Zoologia e Antropologia, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre, s/n, 4169-007, Porto, Portugal;4. Aberdeen Centre for Environmental Sustainability (ACES), University of Aberdeen & The Macaulay Institute, Zoology Building, Tillydrone Avenue, Aberdeen, AB24 2TZ, UK |
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| Abstract: | 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. |
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| Keywords: | Myxomatosis Vaccination Survival |
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