Transmission of chronic wasting disease in Wisconsin white-tailed deer: implications for disease spread and management.

ABSTRACT: Few studies have evaluated the rate of infection or mode of transmission for wildlife diseases, and the implications of alternative management strategies. We used hunter harvest data from 2002 to 2013 to investigate chronic wasting disease (CWD) infection rate and transmission modes, and address how alternative management approaches affect disease dynamics in a Wisconsin white-tailed deer population. Uncertainty regarding demographic impacts of CWD on cervid populations, human and domestic animal health concerns, and potential economic consequences underscore the need for strategies to control CWD distribution and prevalence. Using maximum-likelihood methods to evaluate alternative multi-state deterministic models of CWD transmission, harvest data strongly supports a frequency-dependent tr

SUBMITTER: Jennelle CS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3962341 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature