DOI: 10.5061/dryad.59dh3cm
title: Data from: Feline immunodeficiency virus in puma: estimation of force of infection reveals insights into transmission

description: Determining parameters that govern pathogen transmission (such as the
 force of infection, FOI), and pathogen impacts on morbidity and mortality,
 is exceptionally challenging for wildlife. Vital parameters can vary, for
 example across host populations, between sexes and within an
 individual's lifetime. Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) is a
 lentivirus affecting domestic and wild cat species, forming
 species-specific viral--host associations. FIV infection is common in
 populations of puma (Puma concolor), yet uncertainty remains over
 transmission parameters and the significance of FIV infection for puma
 mortality. In this study the age-specific FOI of FIV in pumas was
 estimated from prevalence data, and the evidence for disease-associated
 mortality was assessed. We fitted candidate models to FIV prevalence data
 and adopted a maximum likelihood method to estimate parameter values in
 each model. The models with the best fit were determined to infer the most
 likely FOI curves. We applied this strategy for female and male pumas from
 southern California, Colorado, and Florida. When splitting the data by sex
 and area, our FOI modelling revealed no evidence of disease-associated
 mortality in any population. Both sex and location were found to influence
 the FOI, which was generally higher for male pumas than for females. For
 female pumas at all sites, and male pumas from California and Colorado,
 the FOI did not vary with puma age, implying FIV transmission can happen
 throughout life; this result supports the idea that transmission can occur
 from mothers to offspring and also throughout adult life. For Florida
 males, the FOI was a decreasing function of puma age, indicating an
 increased risk of infection in the early years, and a decreased risk at
 older ages. This research provides critical insight into pathogen
 transmission and impact in a secretive and solitary carnivore. Our
 findings shed light on the debate on whether FIV causes mortality in wild
 felids like puma, and our approach may be adopted for other diseases and
 species. The methodology we present can be used for identifying likely
 transmission routes of a pathogen and also estimating any
 disease-associated mortality, both of which can be difficult to establish
 for wildlife diseases in particular.
description: FL_age_bins_FFlorida female puma data consisting of puma age (column 1) and FIV infection status (column 2)FL_age_bins_MFlorida male puma data consisting of puma age (column 1) and FIV infection status (column 2)OC_age_bins_FCalifornia (Orange County) female puma data consisting of puma age (column 1) and FIV infection status (column 2)OC_age_bins_MCalifornia (Orange County) male puma data consisting of puma age (column 1) and FIV infection status (column 2)WS_age_bins_FColorado (Western Slope) female puma data consisting of puma age (column 1) and FIV infection status (column 2)WS_age_bins_MColorado (Western Slope) male puma data consisting of puma age (column 1) and FIV infection status (column 2)