Physiology and ecology combine to determine host and vector importance for Ross River virus.

ABSTRACT: Identifying the key vector and host species that drive the transmission of zoonotic pathogens is notoriously difficult but critical for disease control. We present a nested approach for quantifying the importance of host and vectors that integrates species' physiological competence with their ecological traits. We apply this framework to a medically important arbovirus, Ross River virus (RRV), in Brisbane, Australia. We find that vertebrate hosts with high physiological competence are not the most important for community transmission; interactions between hosts and vectors largely underpin the importance of host species. For vectors, physiological competence is highly important. Our results identify primary and secondary vectors of RRV and suggest two potential transmission cycles in Brisb

SUBMITTER: Kain MP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8457839 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature