scholarly journals The Invasive Bank Vole (Myodes glareolus): A Model System for Studying Parasites and Ecoimmunology during a Biological Invasion

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 2529
Author(s):  
Andrew McManus ◽  
Celia V. Holland ◽  
Heikki Henttonen ◽  
Peter Stuart
Keyword(s):  
Emerging Infectious Diseases ◽  
Model System ◽  
Helminth Species ◽  
Human Interaction ◽  
Myodes Glareolus ◽  
Enemy Release ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Primary Driver ◽  
Immunological Research ◽  
Wildlife Pathogens

The primary driver of the observed increase in emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) has been identified as human interaction with wildlife and this increase has emphasized knowledge gaps in wildlife pathogens dynamics. Wild rodent models have proven excellent for studying changes in parasite communities and have been a particular focus of eco-immunological research. Helminth species have been shown to be one of the factors regulating rodent abundance and indirectly affect disease burden through trade-offs between immune pathways. The Myodes glareolus invasion in Ireland is a unique model system to explore the invasion dynamics of helminth species. Studies of the invasive population of M. glareolus in Ireland have revealed a verifiable introduction point and its steady spread. Helminths studies of this invasion have identified enemy release, spillover, spillback and dilution taking place. Longitudinal studies have the potential to demonstrate the interplay between helminth parasite dynamics and both immune adaptation and coinfecting microparasites as M. glareolus become established across Ireland. Using the M. glareolus invasion as a model system and other similar wildlife systems, we can begin to fill the large gap in our knowledge surrounding the area of wildlife pathogen dynamics.

Biosecurity and Public Health Ethics Issues Raised by Biological Threats

2019 ◽  
pp. 773-785
Author(s):  
Nicholas Evans ◽  
Thomas Inglesby
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Resource Allocation ◽  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Emerging Infectious Diseases ◽  
Biological Weapon ◽  
Ethical Values ◽  
Dual Use ◽  
Health Concerns ◽  
Trade Offs

This chapter introduces ethical issues that arise in the context of biosecurity: policies and actions intended to prevent the development or emergence, or mitigate the consequences, of serious biological threats. These threats could include deliberate biological weapon attacks (bioterrorism), pandemics, emerging infectious diseases, or major laboratory accidents. The basic values that underpin these public health concerns are first introduced. Ethical issues that arise before, during, and following a biosecurity crisis are then examined, including issues of resource allocation, dual-use research, and the possibility of quarantine. Their resolution requires trade-offs among different ethical values, including utility, fairness, and liberty.

scholarly journals Breaking through evolutionary constraint by environmental fluctuations

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marjon GJ de Vos ◽  
Alexandre Dawid ◽  
Vanda Sunderlikova ◽  
Sander J Tans
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Environmental Variability ◽  
Model System ◽  
Evolutionary Constraint ◽  
Apparent Paradox ◽  
Epistatic Interactions ◽  
Genetic Constraints ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Fluctuating Environments ◽  
Genetic Constraint

Epistatic interactions can frustrate and shape evolutionary change. Indeed, phenotypes may fail to evolve because essential mutations can only be selected positively if fixed simultaneously. How environmental variability affects such constraints is poorly understood. Here we studied genetic constraints in fixed and fluctuating environments, using theEscherichia coli lacoperon as a model system for genotype-environment interactions. The data indicated an apparent paradox: in different fixed environments, mutational trajectories became trapped at sub-optima where no further improvements were possible, while repeated switching between these same environments allowed unconstrained adaptation by continuous improvements. Pervasive cross-environmental trade-offs transformed peaks into valleys upon environmental change, thus enabling escape from entrapment. This study shows that environmental variability can lift genetic constraint, and that trade-offs not only impede but can also facilitate adaptive evolution.

scholarly journals Trade-offs between individual and ensemble forecasts of an emerging infectious disease

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel J. Oidtman ◽  
Elisa Omodei ◽  
Moritz U. G. Kraemer ◽  
Carlos A. Castañeda-Orjuela ◽  
Erica Cruz-Rivera ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Human Mobility ◽  
Emerging Infectious Diseases ◽  
Spatiotemporal Variation ◽  
Emerging Pathogens ◽  
Ensemble Forecasts ◽  
Transmission Potential ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Probabilistic Forecasts ◽  
Model Structures ◽  
Answering Questions

AbstractProbabilistic forecasts play an indispensable role in answering questions about the spread of newly emerged pathogens. However, uncertainties about the epidemiology of emerging pathogens can make it difficult to choose among alternative model structures and assumptions. To assess the potential for uncertainties about emerging pathogens to affect forecasts of their spread, we evaluated the performance 16 forecasting models in the context of the 2015-2016 Zika epidemic in Colombia. Each model featured a different combination of assumptions about human mobility, spatiotemporal variation in transmission potential, and the number of virus introductions. We found that which model assumptions had the most ensemble weight changed through time. We additionally identified a trade-off whereby some individual models outperformed ensemble models early in the epidemic, but on average the ensembles outperformed all individual models. Our results suggest that multiple models spanning uncertainty across alternative assumptions are necessary to obtain robust forecasts for emerging infectious diseases.

scholarly journals Trade-offs between individual and ensemble forecasts of an emerging infectious disease

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel J Oidtman ◽  
Elisa Omodei ◽  
Moritz U. G. Kraemer ◽  
Carlos A. Casteneda-Orjuela ◽  
Erica Cruz-Rivera ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Human Mobility ◽  
Emerging Infectious Diseases ◽  
Transmission Model ◽  
Ensemble Model ◽  
Emerging Pathogens ◽  
Coupled Models ◽  
Forecast Performance ◽  
Transmission Potential ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Probabilistic Forecasts

When new pathogens emerge, numerous questions arise about their future spread, some of which can be addressed with probabilistic forecasts. The many uncertainties about the epidemiology of emerging pathogens can make it difficult to choose among model structures and assumptions, however. To assess the potential for uncertainties about emerging pathogens to affect forecasts of their spread, we evaluated the performance of a suite of 16 forecasting models in the context of the 2015-2016 Zika epidemic in Colombia. Each model featured a different combination of assumptions about the role of human mobility in driving transmission, spatiotemporal variation in transmission potential, and the number of times the virus was introduced. All models used the same core transmission model and the same iterative data assimilation algorithm to generate forecasts. By assessing forecast performance through time using logarithmic scoring with ensemble weighting, we found that which model assumptions had the most ensemble weight changed through time. In particular, spatially coupled models had higher ensemble weights in the early and late phases of the epidemic, whereas non-spatial models had higher ensemble weights at the peak of the epidemic. We compared forecast performance of the equally-weighted ensemble model to each individual model and identified a trade-off whereby certain individual models outperformed the ensemble model early in the epidemic but the ensemble model outperformed all individual models on average. On balance, our results suggest that suites of models that span uncertainty across alternative assumptions are necessary to obtain robust forecasts in the context of emerging infectious diseases.

Security and Health

2018 ◽  
pp. 121-141
Author(s):  
Simon Rushton
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
Final Section ◽  
Emerging Infectious Diseases ◽  
Security Threats ◽  
Post Cold War ◽  
The Public ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
History Of Disease ◽  
Health Threats ◽  
History Of

This chapter examines and critiques how diseases have come to be seen as national and international security threats, beginning with a brief look at the long history of disease as a threat to societies, then turning to deepening linkages between disease and national security in the post–Cold War era. It then examines four health threats that have entered Western security agendas since the 1990s: emerging infectious diseases, HIV/AIDS, bioterrorism, and drug-resistant infections, focusing on how the public health and security communities have combined to construct these particular health problems as security threats. The chapter also examines some apparent benefits of framing diseases as security threats. The final section discusses critiques of the securitisation of health, noting that these point to the need for policymakers to grapple with deeply political trade-offs regarding how much “security” from health threats we want and what we will sacrifice to get it.

scholarly journals A computational framework for modeling and studying pertussis epidemiology and vaccination

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (S8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paolo Castagno ◽  
Simone Pernice ◽  
Gianni Ghetti ◽  
Massimiliano Povero ◽  
Lorenzo Pradelli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Computational Models ◽  
Emerging Infectious Diseases ◽  
R Package ◽  
Human Interaction ◽  
Global Public Health ◽  
Modeling Framework ◽  
Analysis Techniques ◽  
High Level ◽  
Pertussis Epidemiology

Abstract Background Emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases such as Zika, SARS, ncovid19 and Pertussis, pose a compelling challenge for epidemiologists due to their significant impact on global public health. In this context, computational models and computer simulations are one of the available research tools that epidemiologists can exploit to better understand the spreading characteristics of these diseases and to decide on vaccination policies, human interaction controls, and other social measures to counter, mitigate or simply delay the spread of the infectious diseases. Nevertheless, the construction of mathematical models for these diseases and their solutions remain a challenging tasks due to the fact that little effort has been devoted to the definition of a general framework easily accessible even by researchers without advanced modelling and mathematical skills. Results In this paper we describe a new general modeling framework to study epidemiological systems, whose novelties and strengths are: (1) the use of a graphical formalism to simplify the model creation phase; (2) the implementation of an R package providing a friendly interface to access the analysis techniques implemented in the framework; (3) a high level of portability and reproducibility granted by the containerization of all analysis techniques implemented in the framework; (4) a well-defined schema and related infrastructure to allow users to easily integrate their own analysis workflow in the framework. Then, the effectiveness of this framework is showed through a case of study in which we investigate the pertussis epidemiology in Italy. Conclusions We propose a new general modeling framework for the analysis of epidemiological systems, which exploits Petri Net graphical formalism, R environment, and Docker containerization to derive a tool easily accessible by any researcher even without advanced mathematical and computational skills. Moreover, the framework was implemented following the guidelines defined by Reproducible Bioinformatics Project so it guarantees reproducible analysis and makes simple the developed of new user-defined workflows.

Helminth species diversity of mammals: parasite species richness is a host species attribute

Parasitology ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 135 (14) ◽  
pp. 1701-1705 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. BORDES ◽  
S. MORAND
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Host Species ◽  
Parasite Species ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Large Data ◽  
Helminth Species ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Parasite Species Richness ◽  
Trade Offs

SUMMARYStudies investigating parasite diversity have shown substantial geographical variation in parasite species richness. Most of these studies have, however, adopted a local scale approach, which may have masked more general patterns. Recent studies have shown that ectoparasite species richness in mammals seems highly repeatable among populations of the same mammal host species at a regional scale. In light of these new studies we have reinvestigated the case of parasitic helminths by using a large data set of parasites from mammal populations in 3 continents. We collected homogeneous data and demonstrated that helminth species richness is highly repeatable in mammals at a regional scale. Our results highlight the strong influence of host identity in parasite species richness and call for future research linking helminth species found in a given host to its ecology, immune defences and potential energetic trade-offs.

scholarly journals Evidence for enemy release in invasive common dace Leuciscus leuciscus in Ireland: a helminth community survey and systematic review

2020 ◽  
Vol 94 ◽  
Author(s):  
P.A. Tierney ◽  
J.M. Caffrey ◽  
S.M. Matthews ◽  
E. Costantini ◽  
C.V. Holland
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Invasive Species ◽  
Great Britain ◽  
Parasite Community ◽  
Community Survey ◽  
Helminth Species ◽  
Enemy Release ◽  
Native Range ◽  
Invasive Range ◽  
The Core

Abstract Invasive species lose parasites in the process of invasion and tend to be less parasitized than conspecifics in the native range and sympatric native species in the invasive range (enemy release). We evaluated enemy release in an invasive freshwater fish in Ireland, common dace Leuciscus leuciscus, using helminth parasite community surveys at the core and front of the invasive range of common dace. Furthermore, we undertook a systematic literature review of helminth infection in common dace across its native range in Great Britain and Europe and invasive range in Ireland. The helminth parasite community survey revealed that invasive common dace were infected with fewer helminth species at the invasion front than at the core. Four helminth taxa – Acanthocephala, Monogenea, Digenea and Nematoda – were present in dace at the invasion core compared to only a single helminth species (Pomphorhynchus tereticollis) at the front. The systematic review revealed that invasive common dace in Ireland hosted fewer species of helminths than common dace in the native range. We report a total of three helminth species in common dace in Ireland compared to 24 in Great Britain and 84 in Continental Europe. Our results support the hypotheses that invasive populations are less parasitized than native populations and that more recently established populations host fewer parasites. However, we demonstrate that invasive species may continue to experience release from parasites long after initial invasion.

scholarly journals The effect of monoamines reuptake inhibitors on aerobic exercise performance in bank voles from a selection experiment

2018 ◽  
Vol 65 (4) ◽  
pp. 409-419 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ewa Jaromin ◽  
Edyta T Sadowska ◽  
Paweł Koteja
Keyword(s):  
Aerobic Exercise ◽  
Exercise Performance ◽  
Model System ◽  
Aerobic Metabolism ◽  
Myodes Glareolus ◽  
Behavioral Characteristics ◽  
Bank Voles ◽  
Neuronal Mechanisms ◽  
Unique Model ◽  
The Difference

Abstract Exercise performance depends on both physiological abilities (e.g., muscle strength) and behavioral characteristics (e.g., motivation). We tested the hypothesis that evolution of increased aerobic exercise performance can be facilitated by evolution of neuropsychological mechanisms responsible for motivation to undertake physical activity. We used a unique model system: lines of bank voles Myodes glareolus selected for high swim-induced aerobic metabolism (“aerobic” A lines). In generation 21, voles from the 4 A lines achieved a 57% higher “voluntary maximum” swim-induced aerobic metabolism (VO2swim) than voles from 4 unselected, “control” C lines. In C lines, VO2swim was 9% lower than the maximum forced-exercise aerobic metabolism (VO2run; P = 0.007), while in A lines it was even higher than VO2run, although not significantly (4%, P = 0.15). Thus, we hypothesized that selection changed both the aerobic capacity and the neuronal mechanisms behind motivation to undertake activity. We investigated the influence of reuptake inhibitors of dopamine (DARI), serotonin (SSRI), and norepinephrine (NERI) on VO2swim. The drugs decreased VO2swim both in C and A lines (% decrease compared with saline: DARI 8%, P < 0.001; SSRI 6%, P < 0.001; NERI 8%, P < 0.001), but the proportional response differed between selection directions only for NERI (stronger effect in C lines: P = 0.008) and the difference was marginally non-significant for SSRI (P = 0.07) and DARI (P = 0.06). Thus, the results suggest that all the 3 monoamines are involved in signaling pathways controlling the motivation to be active and that norepinephrine could have played a role in the evolution of increased aerobic exercise performance in our animal model.

scholarly journals Successful elimination of a lethal wildlife infectious disease in nature

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 20150874 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaime Bosch ◽  
Eva Sanchez-Tomé ◽  
Andrés Fernández-Loras ◽  
Joan A. Oliver ◽  
Matthew C. Fisher ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Batrachochytrium Dendrobatidis ◽  
Emerging Infectious Diseases ◽  
Direct Application ◽  
Ex Situ ◽  
Wildlife Diseases ◽  
Environmental Chemical ◽  
Island System ◽  
Wildlife Pathogens ◽  
Chemical Disinfection

Methods to mitigate the impacts of emerging infectious diseases affecting wildlife are urgently needed to combat loss of biodiversity. However, the successful mitigation of wildlife pathogens in situ has rarely occurred. Indeed, most strategies for combating wildlife diseases remain theoretical, despite the wealth of information available for combating infections in livestock and crops. Here, we report the outcome of a 5-year effort to eliminate infection with Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis affecting an island system with a single amphibian host. Our initial efforts to eliminate infection in the larval reservoir using a direct application of an antifungal were successful ex situ but infection returned to previous levels when tadpoles with cleared infections were returned to their natal sites. We subsequently combined antifungal treatment of tadpoles with environmental chemical disinfection. Infection at four of the five pools where infection had previously been recorded was eradicated, and remained so for 2 years post-application.

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