TY - JOUR
T1 - Cost analysis of vaccination in tick-mouse transmission of Lyme disease
AU - Carrera-Pineyro, Daniel
AU - Hanes, Harley
AU - Litzler, Adam
AU - McCormack, Andrea
AU - Velazquez-Molina, Josean
AU - Mubayi, Anuj
AU - Ríos-Soto, Karen
AU - Kribs, Christopher
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors thank the directors and staff of the Mathematical and Theoretical Biology Institute (MTBI) at Arizona State University, where this research was performed, particularly founding director Dr. Carlos Castillo-Chavez, Ms. Rebecca Perlin, and Ms. Sabrina Avila. Through MTBI, this project was partially supported by grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF Grant MPS-DMS-1263374 and NSF Grant DMS-1757968 ), the National Security Agency (NSA Grant H98230-J8-1-0005 ), the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Office of the President of ASU, and the Office of the Provost of ASU.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2020/6/7
Y1 - 2020/6/7
N2 - Lyme disease is one of the most prevalent and fastest growing vector-borne bacterial illnesses in the United States, with over 25,000 new confirmed cases every year. Humans contract the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi through the bite of the tick Ixodes scapularis. The tick can receive the bacterium from a variety of small mammal and bird species, but the white-footed mouse Peromyscus leucopus is the primary reservoir in the northeastern United States, especially near human settlement. The tick's life cycle and behavior depend greatly on the season, with different stages of tick biting at different times. Reducing the infection in the tick-mouse cycle may greatly lower human Lyme incidence in some areas. However, research on the effects of various mouse-targeted interventions is limited. One particularly promising method involves administering vaccine pellets to white-footed mice through special bait boxes. In this study, we develop and analyze a mathematical model consisting of a system of nonlinear difference equations to understand the complex transmission dynamics and vector demographics in both tick and mice populations. We evaluate to what extent vaccination of white-footed mice can affect Lyme incidence in I. scapularis, and under which conditions this method saves money in preventing Lyme disease. We find that, in areas with high human risk, vaccination can eliminate mouse-tick transmission of B. burgdorferi while saving money.
AB - Lyme disease is one of the most prevalent and fastest growing vector-borne bacterial illnesses in the United States, with over 25,000 new confirmed cases every year. Humans contract the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi through the bite of the tick Ixodes scapularis. The tick can receive the bacterium from a variety of small mammal and bird species, but the white-footed mouse Peromyscus leucopus is the primary reservoir in the northeastern United States, especially near human settlement. The tick's life cycle and behavior depend greatly on the season, with different stages of tick biting at different times. Reducing the infection in the tick-mouse cycle may greatly lower human Lyme incidence in some areas. However, research on the effects of various mouse-targeted interventions is limited. One particularly promising method involves administering vaccine pellets to white-footed mice through special bait boxes. In this study, we develop and analyze a mathematical model consisting of a system of nonlinear difference equations to understand the complex transmission dynamics and vector demographics in both tick and mice populations. We evaluate to what extent vaccination of white-footed mice can affect Lyme incidence in I. scapularis, and under which conditions this method saves money in preventing Lyme disease. We find that, in areas with high human risk, vaccination can eliminate mouse-tick transmission of B. burgdorferi while saving money.
KW - Borrelia burgdorferi
KW - Difference equation
KW - Host vaccination
KW - SI disease model
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U2 - 10.1016/j.jtbi.2020.110245
DO - 10.1016/j.jtbi.2020.110245
M3 - Article
C2 - 32169319
AN - SCOPUS:85081891216
SN - 0022-5193
VL - 494
JO - Journal of Theoretical Biology
JF - Journal of Theoretical Biology
M1 - 110245
ER -