Invasive Burmese pythons alter host use and virus infection in the vector of a zoonotic virus.

ABSTRACT: The composition of wildlife communities can have strong effects on transmission of zoonotic vector-borne pathogens, with more diverse communities often supporting lower infection prevalence in vectors (dilution effect). The introduced Burmese python, Python bivittatus, is eliminating large and medium-sized mammals throughout southern Florida, USA, impacting local communities and the ecology of zoonotic pathogens. We investigated invasive predator-mediated impacts on ecology of Everglades virus (EVEV), a zoonotic pathogen endemic to Florida that circulates in mosquito-rodent cycle. Using binomial generalized linear mixed effects models of field data at areas of high and low python densities, we show that increasing diversity of dilution host (non-rodent mammals) is associated with decreasin

SUBMITTER: Burkett-Cadena ND 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8239020 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature