image: Samples collected from Amur tigers including Boris and Svetlaya (pictured) enabled the researchers to assess the population's exposure to canine distemper virus view more
Credit: Image credit: Wildlife Conservation Society
A study suggests that vaccinating portions of an endangered tiger population against canine distemper virus (CDV) is likely to be more effective in reducing infection than vaccinating domestic dog populations. CDV commonly affects domestic dogs but also causes disease in wildlife, including the endangered Amur tiger subspecies, which numbers fewer than 550 individuals found in the Russian Far East and neighboring China. Martin Gilbert and colleagues report that vaccinating portions of an endangered tiger population against CDV is likely to be more effective in reducing infection than vaccinating domestic dog populations. The authors analyzed epidemiological data from tiger and local animal populations to determine the most viable and cost-effective strategy for protecting isolated and fragmented populations of the Amur tiger. Analysis of serological and demographic evidence of CDV infection in populations of tigers, domestic dogs, and multiple wild carnivore species indicated that wildlife are likely to be the key reservoirs of the virus. The authors used tiger serum to verify that the vaccine could protect against the local strain of the virus. A population viability analysis revealed that even a low rate of vaccination of two tigers per year could reduce the tigers' 50-year extinction probability from 15.8% to 5.7% at an average cost of $30,000. According to the authors, the findings suggest that vaccination of endangered wildlife is a valuable conservation measure.
ARTICLE #20-00153: "Distemper, extinction, and vaccination of the Amur tiger," by Martin Gilbert et al.
MEDIA CONTACT: Martin Gilbert, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY; tel: 916-803-5042; e-mail: m.gilbert@cornell.edu
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Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences