Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Pulliam JR
PROVIDER: S-EPMC1769520 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Jan
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Pulliam Juliet R C JR Dushoff Jonathan G JG Levin Simon A SA Dobson Andrew P AP
PloS one 20070117 1
We observe that a pathogen introduced into a population containing individuals with acquired immunity can result in an epidemic longer in duration and/or larger in size than if the pathogen were introduced into a naive population. We call this phenomenon "epidemic enhancement," and use simple dynamical models to show that it is a realistic scenario within the parameter ranges of many common infectious diseases. This finding implies that repeated pathogen introduction or intermediate levels of va ...[more]