NSF LogoNSF Award Abstract - #0090323 AWSFL008-DS3

Metapopulation Models and Control of Tuberculosis in African Buffalo

NSF Org EF
Latest Amendment Date July 20, 2004
Award Number 0090323
Award Instrument Continuing grant
Program Manager Samuel M. Scheiner
EF EMERGING FRONTIERS
BIO DIRECT FOR BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
Start Date September 15, 2000
Expires August 31, 2005 (Estimated)
Expected Total Amount $1812146 (Estimated)
Investigator Wayne Marcus Getz getz@nature.berkeley.edu (Principal Investigator current)
Sponsor U of Cal Berkeley
Sponsored Projects Office
Berkeley, CA 947205940 510/642-6000
NSF Program 1629 BE: NON-ANNOUNCEMENT RESEARCH
Field Application 0312000 Population
Program Reference Code 1066,7242,9169,EGCH,

Abstract

The goal of this study is to develop a general theory of the spread and maintenance of communicable diseases in spatially heterogeneous populations. The theory will be developed and tested in the context of bovine tuberculosis (BTB) in the African buffalo population in the Kruger National Park (KNP), South Africa, as well as the spill-over of this disease to cattle and humans living on the boundaries of KNP. The study involves collecting BTB prevalence and strain data from sputum and blood samples taken from immobilized buffalo, some of which will be marked and collared for radio tracking studies of the movement of individuals between herds and the movement of herds over the landscape. The data will be incorporated into a spatially explicit and ecologically detailed predictive model that will then used to test theory and evaluate management alternatives such as vaccination, removal of infected individuals, and the maintenance of different strains of the diseases under particular treatment regimes.

The study will provide further insights into tuberculosis, which is a serious problem in humans that is exacerbated by the current AIDS epidemic in Africa and the emergence of drug resistant strains. It will also provide insights into factors controlling the spread of other communicable diseases such as HIV itself.


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