Fall 2024 Highlights from EESC’s Disease Decision Analysis and Research Group
Disease Decision Analysis and Research (DDAR) is a multi-disciplinary team based out of the Eastern Ecological Science Center whose strengths are in ecology, decision sciences, quantitative modeling, social sciences, and natural resource management. Learn more about the recent activities of this team below.
Disease Decision Analysis and Research at USGS
DDAR’s current focus is on pathogens and emerging infectious diseases that have been identified by partner agencies as potentially benefitting from decision analysis support: white-nose syndrome, salamander chytrid fungus, chronic wasting disease, SARS-CoV-2, avian influenza, tick-borne pathogens, and stony coral tissue loss disease.
For decision making, we frame disease decision problems, organize knowledge, evaluate the relative performance of treatments, identify critical scientific uncertainties, and clarify the importance of reducing uncertainties. We also help inform efficient and effective survey design and resource allocations.
For science support, we design and implement applied studies to better understand disease system ecology and transmission dynamics, inform risk-based assessments, and identify effective disease management interventions.
As part of a current zoonotic disease funding grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, DDAR coordinated the Chesapeake Bay Zoonotic Wildlife Disease Working Group in January 2024. This working group brought together collaborators from federal, state, and local agencies who are contributing to wildlife disease bio-surveillance in understudied avian and mammalian species for highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1) across the region, and partners interested in strengthening the cross-sector One-Health network.
The meeting centered on gathering insights for coordination and communication for established and emerging zoonotic diseases. We gathered participant insights on various concerns for wildlife diseases including emergent diseases of concern and identification of species of conservation concern given zoonotic disease risk. Upcoming efforts include hosting tabletop exercises (i.e., facilitated informal training for emergency zoonotic/wildlife disease response) to aid in disease response planning and training.
Vector-borne disease incidence, especially tick-borne disease, has been increasing in Northeastern states. Lyme disease affects approximately 476,000 individuals and costs the economy between $345-978 million each year (Hook et al. 2022). DDAR began working to support state and federal agencies tasked with managing ticks and tick-borne diseases and held a structured decision making workshop in September 2023.
During the workshop, participating teams received support in developing a structured approach to solving a tick-related problem by working with a senior decision analyst and staff trained in facilitation, decision analysis, disease ecology, and quantitative modeling. Our work with Maine and New York public health, natural resource and agricultural agencies continues with a focus on reducing cases of tick-borne disease in humans, as well as in wildlife and domesticated animals.
SARS-CoV-2 has been detected in multiple wildlife species, raising concern about the establishment of reservoir species that circulate the virus and threaten public health. In the U.S., SARS-CoV-2 has been detected in captive and wild white-tailed deer populations and may constitute a reservoir species for the virus.
In 2022, DDAR led a workshop with state and federal agencies across the One Health spectrum to develop initial guidance on framing decision problems around SARS-CoV-2 in white-tailed deer. These workshops established a common understanding of factors influencing spillover and spread of SARS-CoV-2 in deer, objectives for agencies given this challenge, and potential management actions. This work informs critical research and efforts to mitigate One Health impacts of this zoonotic disease.
Presentations and Workshops
Presentations:
- Prosser D, Sullivan K. 2024. Organizing regional stakeholders to identify zoonotic disease concerns. USGS-USDA Science Exchange. April 9, 2024.
- Bletz M, et al. Start early and stay the course: Proactive management outperforms reactive actions for wildlife disease control. The Wildlife Society 30th Annual Conference. Louisville, Kentucky. November 5-9, 2023. (INVITED)
- Gonnerman, M., et al. Modeling the interface between wildlife populations and human industries to anticipate HPAI risk in the Unites States. The Wildlife Society 30th Annual Conference. Louisville, Kentucky. November 5-9, 2023. (INVITED)
- Harvey J, Prosser D, Mullinax J, Runge MC, Grant EHC. 2023. From napkin to action: using network analysis to unravel how US bird conservation can adapt to HPAI. The Waterbird Society Annual Meeting. Fort Lauderdale, Florida. October 9-13, 2023.
- Harvey J, Mullinax J, Runge MC, Shaffer JL, Prosser D. 2023. Developing a decision framework for seabird conservation. The Wildlife Society 30th Annual Conference. Louisville, Kentucky. November 5-9, 2023. (INVITED)
- McEachran M, Cook JD, Berl REW, DiRenzo G, Grant EHC, Runge MC. 2023. People and prions: human dimensions of CWD decision making. The Wildlife Society 30th Annual Conference. Louisville, Kentucky. November 5-9, 2023. (INVITED)
- Rosenblatt E, Cook JD, DiRenzo GV, Grant EHC, Arce F, Pepin K, Rudolph FJ, Runge MC, Shriner S, Walsh D, Mosher B. 2023. An assessment of risk of SARS-CoV-2 spillover in white-tailed deer and potential intervention points. The Wildlife Society 30th Annual Conference. Louisville, Kentucky. November 5-9, 2023. (INVITED)
- Runge MC, Shea K, Howerton E, Yah K, Viboud C. 2023. A proposed taxonomy for scenario designs. Scenario Modeling Hub 2023 Meeting. Portland, Maine. September 20-23, 2023. (INVITED PLENARY)
Workshops:
- Structured Decision-Making Rapid Prototyping Workshop. Theme: Management of chronic wasting disease in Massachusetts. Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, Westborough, Massachusetts. February 13-15, 2024.
- Chesapeake Bay Zoonotic Wildlife Disease Working Group. Theme: Identification of collaborative opportunities to foster collaboration in this region. Laurel, Maryland. January 31, 2024.
- Structured Decision-Making Rapid Prototyping Workshop. Theme: Management of winter ticks in moose in the Northeast. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Saranac Lake, New York. August 31, 2023.
- Structured Decision-Making Rapid Prototyping Workshop. Theme: Tick management in the Northeast. National Conservation Training Center, Shepherdstown, West Virginia. September 5-8, 2023.
- Structured Decision-Making Rapid Prototyping Workshop. Theme: Management of chronic wasting disease in Vermont. Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, Essex Junction, Vermont. September 27-28, 2023.
- Fundamentals of Structured Decision Making (workshop). The Wildlife Society Conference, Louisville, Kentucky. November 5-9, 2023. (With S Converse, SN Sells, B Thompson, AF Isham)
- Structured Decision-Making Rapid Prototyping Workshop. Theme: Management of chronic wasting disease in Vermont. Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, Montpelier, Vermont. January 24-26, 2024.
- Value-of-Information Workshop. Bureau of Reclamation Bay-Delta Office, Sacramento, California. March 13-15, 2024
- Value-of-Information Training. DDAR Annual Retreat, Turners Falls, Massachusetts. March 20, 2024.
Get Our News
These items are in the RSS feed format (Really Simple Syndication) based on categories such as topics, locations, and more. You can install and RSS reader browser extension, software, or use a third-party service to receive immediate news updates depending on the feed that you have added. If you click the feed links below, they may look strange because they are simply XML code. An RSS reader can easily read this code and push out a notification to you when something new is posted to our site.