The Impact of Host Abundance on the Epidemiology of Tick-Borne Infection.

ABSTRACT: Tick-borne diseases are an increasing global public health concern due to an expanding geographical range and increase in abundance of tick-borne infectious agents. A potential explanation for the rising impact of tick-borne diseases is an increase in tick abundance which may be linked to an increase in density of the hosts on which they feed. In this study, we develop a model framework to understand the link between host density, tick demography and tick-borne pathogen epidemiology. Our model links the development of specific tick stages to the specific hosts on which they feed. We show that host community composition and host density have an impact on tick population dynamics and that this has a consequent impact on host and tick epidemiological dynamics. A key result is that our model f

SUBMITTER: O'Neill X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9998325 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature