MTB Group Seminar Series: Are all community created equally? Connecting the dots in a multi-host system for modeling the transmission dynamics of a tropical infectious disease

Abstract

Changes in host diversity and community structure have been linked to rapid or reduced spread of infectious disease. The mechanisms underlying such relationships with regards to tropical infectious diseases are complex and provide significant challenges in modeling their transmission dynamics. Parasite transmission potential within the host community is determined by the relative abilities of different hosts to maintain and transmit the parasite and by ecological factors influencing hosts interactions and parasite transmission rates. Transmission from different types of hosts may occur via contact with an infected environment, predation upon infected host, and vertical transmission in a host. Identifying the influences of various transmission pathways on the complete life cycle of a parasite warrant proper mathematical investigation. Some of the questions that researchers investigate include how changes in host community structure affected the transmission pathways of the multi-host parasite such as West Nile Virus, Chagas disease and Leishmaniasis. In this talk, I will provide systematic understanding of modeling the complex population biology and transmission ecology of multihost parasites, which has been declared by WHO as one of the major challenges of biomedical sciences for the 21st century due to recent COVID-19 pandemic. The talk will highlight the potential complexity of developing sustained and effective control, and thus, demands a One Health perspective in modeling transmission dynamics of tropical diseases.

Link to the session: https://zoom.us/j/93168136691?pwd=dXovQlF2T09pQWtIblQrWEFJWTJRQT09