@article{750df947dd5e4dfab393831adda93766,
title = "Herd immunity drives the epidemic fadeout of avian cholera in Arctic-nesting seabirds",
abstract = "Avian cholera, caused by the bacterium Pasteurella multocida, is a common and important infectious disease of wild birds in North America. Between 2005 and 2012, avian cholera caused annual mortality of widely varying magnitudes in Northern common eiders (Somateria mollissima borealis) breeding at the largest colony in the Canadian Arctic, Mitivik Island, Nunavut. Although herd immunity, in which a large proportion of the population acquires immunity to the disease, has been suggested to play a role in epidemic fadeout, immunological studies exploring this hypothesis have been missing. We investigated the role of three potential drivers of fadeout of avian cholera in eiders, including immunity, prevalence of infection, and colony size. Each potential driver was examined in relation to the annual real-time reproductive number (Rt) of P. multocida, previously calculated for eiders at Mitivik Island. Each year, colony size was estimated and eiders were closely monitored, and evaluated for infection and serological status. We demonstrate that acquired immunity approximated using antibody titers to P. multocida in both sexes was likely a key driver for the epidemic fadeout. This study exemplifies the importance of herd immunity in influencing the dynamics and fadeout of epidemics in a wildlife population.",
author = "{van Dijk}, {Jacintha G.B.} and Iverson, {Samuel A.} and Gilchrist, {H. Grant} and Harms, {N. Jane} and Hennin, {Holly L.} and Love, {Oliver P.} and Buttler, {E. Isabel} and Stephanie Lesceu and Foster, {Jeffrey T.} and Forbes, {Mark R.} and Catherine Soos",
note = "Funding Information: This research was funded by Environment and Climate Change Canada, NSERC, STAGE (Strategic Applications of Genomics in the Environment), Ducks Unlimited Institute for Wetland and Waterfowl Research, University of Saskatchewan{\textquoteright}s Wildlife Health Research Fund, Nunavut Wildlife Management Board, University of Saskatchewan{\textquoteright}s Interprovincial Graduate Fellowship, the W. Garfield Weston Foundation, the Arctic Institute of North America, Northern Scientific Training Program, Baffinland Inc., Oceans North, Polar Continental Shelf Program, ArcticNet and Polar Knowledge Canada. J.G.B.v.D. was funded by the British Ornithologists{\textquoteright} Union Career Development Bursary. We thank all biologists, veterinarians, assistants and students for many years of sample and field data collection, including Guylaine Seguin, Josanne Verhagen, Brett Elkin, and Emilie Bouchard. We thank Janet Hill for use of her laboratory and support staff, and Jamille McLeod, Emilie Bouchard, Kaillie Price, Karen Gesy, and Landon McPhee for lab analyses. We greatly appreciate the long standing support of the Aiviit Hunters and Trappers Association of Coral Harbour, Nunavut. Furthermore, we thank Michael Janssen and Amie Black of Environment and Climate Change Canada for logistical and administrative support. We thank the reviewers for their constructive feedback. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021, The Author(s).",
year = "2021",
month = dec,
doi = "10.1038/s41598-020-79888-6",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "11",
journal = "Scientific Reports",
issn = "2045-2322",
publisher = "Nature Publishing Group",
number = "1",
}