Invasion ability and disease dynamics of environmentally growing opportunistic pathogens under outside-host competition.

ABSTRACT: Most theories of the evolution of virulence concentrate on obligatory host-pathogen relationship. Yet, many pathogens replicate in the environment outside-host where they compete with non-pathogenic forms. Thus, replication and competition in the outside-host environment may have profound influence on the evolution of virulence and disease dynamics. These environmentally growing opportunistic pathogens are also a logical step towards obligatory pathogenicity. Efficient treatment methods against these diseases, such as columnaris disease in fishes, are lacking because of their opportunist nature. We present a novel epidemiological model in which replication and competition in the outside-host environment influences the invasion ability of a novel pathogen. We also analyze the long-term host

SUBMITTER: Merikanto I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4240615 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature