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Worms and germs: the population dynamic consequences of microparasite-macroparasite co-infection

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 December 2007

ANDY FENTON
ANDY FENTON*
Affiliation:
School of Biological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Crown Street, Liverpool, L69 7ZB, UK
*
Tel: 0151 795 4473, Fax: 0151 795 4408, Email: a.fenton@liverpool.ac.uk
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Summary

Hosts are typically simultaneously co-infected by a variety of microparasites (e.g. viruses and bacteria) and macroparasites (e.g. parasitic helminths). However, the population dynamical consequences of such co-infections and the implications for the effectiveness of imposed control programmes have yet to be fully realised. Mathematical models may provide an important framework for exploring such issues and have proved invaluable in helping to understand the factors affecting the epidemiology of single parasitic infections. Here the first population dynamic model of microparasite-macroparasite co-infection is presented and used to explore how co-infection alters the predictions of the existing single-species models. It is shown that incorporating an additional parasite species into existing models can greatly stabilise them, due to the combined density-dependent impacts on the host population, but co-infection can also restrict the region of parameter space where each species could persist alone. Overall it is concluded that the dynamic feedback between host, microparasite and macroparasite means that it is difficult to appreciate the factors affecting parasite persistence and predict the effectiveness of control by just studying one component in isolation.

Keywords

Basic reproduction ratiodisease controlepidemiologyhost-parasite communitymathematical modelparasitic helminthpopulation dynamicsvirus
Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 135 , Special Issue 13: Mathematical modelling of parasitic infections: from data and parameter estimation to evolutionary implications , November 2008 , pp. 1545 - 1560
Copyright
Copyright © 2007 Cambridge University Press

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