Challenging a paradigm: Staggered versus single-pulse mass dog vaccination strategy for rabies elimination.

<h4>Background</h4>From smallpox to poliomyelitis, halting contagion transmission through simultaneous mass vaccination is ubiquitous and often perceived as the only possible solution. But implementing mass vaccination campaigns in large populations within a short period poses many chall...

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Main Authors: Brinkley Raynor Bellotti, Elvis W Díaz, Micaela De la Puente-León, Maria T Rieders, Sergio E Recuenco, Michael Z Levy, Ricardo Castillo-Neyra
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2025-02-01
Series:PLoS Computational Biology
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1012780
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author Brinkley Raynor Bellotti
Elvis W Díaz
Micaela De la Puente-León
Maria T Rieders
Sergio E Recuenco
Michael Z Levy
Ricardo Castillo-Neyra
author_facet Brinkley Raynor Bellotti
Elvis W Díaz
Micaela De la Puente-León
Maria T Rieders
Sergio E Recuenco
Michael Z Levy
Ricardo Castillo-Neyra
author_sort Brinkley Raynor Bellotti
collection DOAJ
description <h4>Background</h4>From smallpox to poliomyelitis, halting contagion transmission through simultaneous mass vaccination is ubiquitous and often perceived as the only possible solution. But implementing mass vaccination campaigns in large populations within a short period poses many challenges. For example, in Arequipa, Peru, sweeping mass vaccination campaigns conducted yearly over a single weekend have failed to achieve the required 'herd immunity' to halt canine rabies transmission. Contrary to the global paradigm of a simultaneous campaign, the 2022 Arequipa rabies campaign was implemented at the sub-district level (patches), with dates of the campaign staggered across 6 months.<h4>Methods</h4>We constructed a stochastic, metapopulation model to examine how the timing of pulsed vaccination campaigns across patches can affect metapopulation dynamics. We explore general metapopulation dynamics for pulsed vaccinations as well as parameterizing the model for canine rabies in Arequipa, Peru. We simulated how the timing of the planned vaccination campaign, staggered over 6 months versus a single yearly pulse, affected the prospects for regional rabies elimination.<h4>Results</h4>Metapopulation dynamics can affect the efficacy of pulsed vaccination campaigns. In the case of Arequipa, Peru, the planned staggered mass dog vaccination campaign has the potential for local elimination with the tradeoffs of increased time to elimination and increased outbreak size due to metapopulation dynamics.<h4>Conclusions</h4>Heterogeneities caused by control strategies enactment at sub-population scales should be accounted for when modeling transmission dynamics. In Arequipa, Peru, although metapopulation dynamics may allow for re-introduction of canine rabies in previously vaccinated patches when mass dog vaccination campaigns are staggered temporally over 6 months, continuous mass vaccination reaching recommended vaccination coverage levels is sufficient to eliminate canine rabies.
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institution Kabale University
issn 1553-734X
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language English
publishDate 2025-02-01
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spelling doaj-art-c39ce497530a48ea8b739989f8636f262025-02-12T05:30:34ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS Computational Biology1553-734X1553-73582025-02-01212e101278010.1371/journal.pcbi.1012780Challenging a paradigm: Staggered versus single-pulse mass dog vaccination strategy for rabies elimination.Brinkley Raynor BellottiElvis W DíazMicaela De la Puente-LeónMaria T RiedersSergio E RecuencoMichael Z LevyRicardo Castillo-Neyra<h4>Background</h4>From smallpox to poliomyelitis, halting contagion transmission through simultaneous mass vaccination is ubiquitous and often perceived as the only possible solution. But implementing mass vaccination campaigns in large populations within a short period poses many challenges. For example, in Arequipa, Peru, sweeping mass vaccination campaigns conducted yearly over a single weekend have failed to achieve the required 'herd immunity' to halt canine rabies transmission. Contrary to the global paradigm of a simultaneous campaign, the 2022 Arequipa rabies campaign was implemented at the sub-district level (patches), with dates of the campaign staggered across 6 months.<h4>Methods</h4>We constructed a stochastic, metapopulation model to examine how the timing of pulsed vaccination campaigns across patches can affect metapopulation dynamics. We explore general metapopulation dynamics for pulsed vaccinations as well as parameterizing the model for canine rabies in Arequipa, Peru. We simulated how the timing of the planned vaccination campaign, staggered over 6 months versus a single yearly pulse, affected the prospects for regional rabies elimination.<h4>Results</h4>Metapopulation dynamics can affect the efficacy of pulsed vaccination campaigns. In the case of Arequipa, Peru, the planned staggered mass dog vaccination campaign has the potential for local elimination with the tradeoffs of increased time to elimination and increased outbreak size due to metapopulation dynamics.<h4>Conclusions</h4>Heterogeneities caused by control strategies enactment at sub-population scales should be accounted for when modeling transmission dynamics. In Arequipa, Peru, although metapopulation dynamics may allow for re-introduction of canine rabies in previously vaccinated patches when mass dog vaccination campaigns are staggered temporally over 6 months, continuous mass vaccination reaching recommended vaccination coverage levels is sufficient to eliminate canine rabies.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1012780
spellingShingle Brinkley Raynor Bellotti
Elvis W Díaz
Micaela De la Puente-León
Maria T Rieders
Sergio E Recuenco
Michael Z Levy
Ricardo Castillo-Neyra
Challenging a paradigm: Staggered versus single-pulse mass dog vaccination strategy for rabies elimination.
PLoS Computational Biology
title Challenging a paradigm: Staggered versus single-pulse mass dog vaccination strategy for rabies elimination.
title_full Challenging a paradigm: Staggered versus single-pulse mass dog vaccination strategy for rabies elimination.
title_fullStr Challenging a paradigm: Staggered versus single-pulse mass dog vaccination strategy for rabies elimination.
title_full_unstemmed Challenging a paradigm: Staggered versus single-pulse mass dog vaccination strategy for rabies elimination.
title_short Challenging a paradigm: Staggered versus single-pulse mass dog vaccination strategy for rabies elimination.
title_sort challenging a paradigm staggered versus single pulse mass dog vaccination strategy for rabies elimination
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1012780
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