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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Byron, Georgia » Fruit and Tree Nut Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #273658
Title: Principles of epizootiology and microbial control

Author
item Shapiro Ilan, David
item Bruck, Denny
item LACEY, LAWRENCE - Retired ARS Employee

Submitted to: Insect Pathology
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/24/2011
Publication Date: 2/1/2012
Citation: Shapiro Ilan, D.I., Bruck, D.J., Lacey, L.A. 2012. Principles of epizootiology and microbial control. In: Vega, F., Kaya, H.K., editors. Insect Pathology. 2nd edition. San Diego, CA:Elsevier. 29-72.

Interpretive Summary: Microbial control is a safe alternative pest suppression approach that is environmentally friendly. Microbial control can be defined as the use of insect diseases (viruses, fungi, bacteria, protists, or nematodes) for pest suppression. In order to improve the use of microbial control agents, it is also important to study the causes of disease outbreaks, i.e., epizootics. An epizootic is defined as an outbreak of disease in which there is an unusually large number of cases. A central question in insect pathology is: what are the factors that cause an epizootic? The question is addressed through the discipline of epizootiology, i.e., the study of animal disease dynamics on a population level. The major factors influencing an epizootic can be divided into four basic components: (1) the pathogen (disease-causing) population; (2) the host population; (3) transmission; and (4) the environment. Although the question pertaining to the causes of an epizootic is of great interest to all aspects of insect pathology, it is of particular interest to microbial control efforts. In this chapter we present a summary and analysis of epizootiological principles and the concepts of microbial control. The goal is to promote expanded studies in epizootiology, and foster research and implementation toward improved microbial control programs.

Technical Abstract: An epizootic is defined as an outbreak of disease in which there is an unusually large number of cases. A central question in insect pathology is: what are the factors that cause an epizootic? The question is addressed through the discipline of epizootiology, i.e., the study of animal disease dynamics on a population level. The major factors influencing an epizootic can be divided into four basic components: (1) the pathogen population; (2) the host population; (3) transmission; and (4) the environment. Although the question pertaining to the causes of an epizootic is of great interest to all aspects of insect pathology, it is of particular interest to microbial control effort. Microbial control can be defined as the use of entomopathogens (viruses, fungi, bacteria, protists, or nematodes) for pest suppression. In this chapter, we present a summary and analysis of epizootiological principles and the concepts of microbial control. The goal is to promote expanded studies in epizootiology, and foster research and implementation toward improved microbial control programs.