SpiL · Spillover of Leptospira in island populations of the Channel Island fox

Spillover of Leptospira in island populations of the Channel Island fox

Spillover, or the transmission of pathogens from one species to another, is the major source of emerging infectious disease outbreaks in humans. Yet despite the relevance of spillover the theory behind its causes and mechanisms is currently underdeveloped. The main goal of SPIL is to develop a new conceptual framework for spillover through the use of an interdisciplinary approach to analyze an exceptional dataset on the transmission of Leptospira between California sea lions and endangered Channel Island foxes. Leptospira is the most widespread animal infectious disease and the cause of leptospirosis, a potentially severe and fatal renal disease. California sea lions experience annual outbreaks of leptospirosis, which is a major cause of stranding. Sea lions are thought to transmit the pathogen to Channel Island foxes through contacts on beaches. This project combines concepts and methods from human epidemiology, disease ecology and island biology to create a model of Leptospira spillover risk, with the ultimate goal of developing general concepts on spillover. A key result of the project so far has been the publication of a new conceptual framework of spillover, proposing new theory, and in particular advancing the concept of 'ecological permeability' to understand pathogen spillover across ecosystem boundaries. Another major advance of the project is the development of a new model to estimate the time of infection of individuals, which is a major challenge. This advance represents an important contribution to the growing field of quantitative serology.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union