Zoonotic Disease Transmission May Be Linked to Host Co-Occurrence Network Topology.

ABSTRACT: Most human pathogens are zoonotic, transmitted from vertebrate hosts to humans. However, it is still unclear how the topology of host co-occurrence networks may contribute to disease transmission. To address this uncertainty, we examined the host co-occurrence networks of 22 zoonotic pathogens from six continents (70 networks). First, we distinguished two major gradients of variability in host network topology-size (numbers of nodes and edges) and connectance/modularity. Larger networks with high connectance but low modularity have a greater potential for zoonotic disease transmission. These networks encompassed the hosts of 10 pathogens that cause emerging, re-emerging, and/or genetically diversifying diseases: St. Louis encephalitis virus, influenza A virus, West Nile virus, Toxoplasma g

SUBMITTER: Stillson PT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12728330 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature