Inference for epidemic models with time-varying infection rates: Tracking the dynamics of oak processionary moth in the UK.

ABSTRACT: Invasive pests pose a great threat to forest, woodland, and urban tree ecosystems. The oak processionary moth (OPM) is a destructive pest of oak trees, first reported in the UK in 2006. Despite great efforts to contain the outbreak within the original infested area of South-East England, OPM continues to spread.Here, we analyze data consisting of the numbers of OPM nests removed each year from two parks in London between 2013 and 2020. Using a state-of-the-art Bayesian inference scheme, we estimate the parameters for a stochastic compartmental SIR (susceptible, infested, and removed) model with a time-varying infestation rate to describe the spread of OPM.We find that the infestation rate and subsequent basic reproduction number have remained constant since 2013 (with R0 between one and tw

SUBMITTER: Wadkin LE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9058805 | biostudies-literature | 2022 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature