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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-pathogen dynamics. Model parameterization is based on the columnaris disease, a bacterial fresh water fish disease that causes major losses in fish farms worldwide. Our model demonstrates that strong competition in the outside-host environment can prevent the invasion of a new environmentally growing opportunist pathogen and long-term disease outbreaks.

SUBMITTER: Merikanto I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4240615 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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

Merikanto Ilona I   Laakso Jouni T JT   Kaitala Veijo V  

PloS one 20141121 11


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  ...[more]

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