For millennia, rabies has remained a frightening and significant health hazard. Currently, raccoon rabies has enormous health impact in the eastern United States, with continuing spread into new regions. Human risk is affected by contact with wild animals and pets, intrusion into natural areas, vaccination of free-ranging wildlife, and actions that disturb the balance between native species. This study will use computer and mathematical modeling to synthesize information uncovered through a variety of disciplines, to recognize critical knowledge gaps, and to identify potential control strategies. Field studies will provide new information about how raccoons use the landscape. Contacts between raccoons will be monitored using novel radiocollars that communicate with each other. Data will be gathered where raccoon rabies is endemic and where the epidemic wave front has not yet arrived.
This integrated approach will allow generation and testing of predictions about disease spread and will create a decision tool for policy makers. Rational and cost-effective control programs can be built on this understanding of disease ecology and impacts on human populations. This will set the stage for comparative assessment of potential control strategies, analogous to the successful approach used for fox rabies in Europe. Insights from the cross-disciplinary modeling process will provide a map for scientific consensus building, communication and education for other emerging diseases.
