University of the Incarnate Word, San Antonio, TX, USA.
Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, USA.
J Theor Biol. 2020 Jun 7;494:110245. doi: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2020.110245. Epub 2020 Mar 10.
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.
莱姆病是美国最普遍和增长最快的虫媒细菌性疾病之一，每年有超过 25000 例新确诊病例。人类通过被扁虱Ixodes scapularis 叮咬而感染细菌Borrelia burgdorferi。扁虱可以从各种小型哺乳动物和鸟类身上获得这种细菌，但在美国东北部，白足鼠Peromyscus leucopus 是主要的宿主，尤其是在靠近人类居住地的地方。扁虱的生命周期和行为在很大程度上取决于季节，不同阶段的扁虱叮咬时间也不同。减少蜱-鼠循环中的感染可能会大大降低某些地区人类莱姆病的发病率。然而，针对各种针对老鼠的干预措施的研究有限。一种特别有前途的方法是通过特殊的诱饵盒向白足鼠投放疫苗丸。在这项研究中，我们开发和分析了一个由非线性差分方程系统组成的数学模型，以了解蜱和老鼠种群中的复杂传播动态和向量人口统计学。我们评估了给白足鼠接种疫苗在多大程度上可以影响 I. scapularis 中的莱姆病发病率，以及在何种情况下这种方法可以节省预防莱姆病的费用。我们发现，在人类风险较高的地区，接种疫苗可以消除 B. burgdorferi 在鼠-蜱之间的传播，同时节省资金。
