ECODIS · Effects of co-infections on the emergence of an avian disease Mycoplasma gallisepticum
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2018-06-16 → 2022-04-30
- EU contribution
- €240,530
- Participants
- 2
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
Effects of co-infections on the emergence of an avian disease Mycoplasma gallisepticum
Coinfection is the simultaneous infection of a host by multiple pathogen species and is commonplace in vertebrate hosts. As pathogen species can (in)directly interact within the host, coinfections are considered to be of particular importance in the ecology of wildlife diseases. In general, pathogens do not exert their effects in isolation; they act in conjunction with other parasites infecting the host. The subject of coinfection is increasingly recognized as a complex process that breaks down the one-pathogen/one-disease paradigm, altering pathologic and immunologic effects in the host, the severity and duration of disease, and ultimately transmission in ways that are different, and often greater, than would be expected from single infections. In this project, I test the hypothesis that directly-transmitted Mycoplasma (MG) will transmit more efficiently when interacting with common songbird copathogens (Plasmodium relictum (PR), a mosquito-transmitted protozoan, and Borrelia burgdorferi s.s. (BB), a tick-borne bacterium), with coinfections exacerbating MG disease and transmission. Furthermore, I anticipate characterizing aspects of MG adaptation to the coinfected ‘host environment’. The current COVID-19-crisis is providing ample evidence for pathogen evolution at rapid rates, fitness advantages allowing. The objectives of this project - of which hypotheses have been tested within wild bird species - therefore are of high socio-economic value: understanding underlying processes of co-pathogen interactions on transmission dynamics is key to predict fitness landscapes favouring the one strain over the other, and therefore the population dynamics of both pathogen and host.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
The investigation of processes that trigger cross-species transmission (‘spillover’) is central to disease ecology and epidemiology. Many infectious diseases in humans and domestic animals have emerged from successful jumps from wildlife hosts. The interactions of coinfecting pathogens within the same host are considered to be important in these spillover processes. However, despite the relevance of coinfections, little is known about the copathogen dynamics in the wild. There is a need for general concepts and theories. “Ecodis” proposes to fill this gap by determining a conceptual framework for effects of copathogens on disease transmission in one of the world’s best studied parasite-songbird systems: the directly-transmitted Mycoplasma gallisepticum bacteria in House Finches. Using methods from disease ecology and human epidemiology, I (Dr. Heylen; the applying experienced researcher) combine experimental and field surveillance data to create models on cross-host infection risks. These innovative models will improve our understanding of the roles of coinfections in mediating pathogen establishment and persistence in novel host species and previously unexposed populations. I will be guided by high-profile scientists, Hens (Hasselt University) and Dobson (Princeton University), and benefit from their extensive networks to develop a set of crucial skills that boost my research profile and expertise in constructing/applying mathematical and theoretical models in disease ecology. Following the ‘One Health’ vision, this multidisciplinary and highly translational project will allow me to develop an international career as disease ecologist, and - in the long-term - to contribute to biodiversity and risk management programs in Europe and beyond.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- UNIVERSITEIT HASSELT · HasseltCoordinatorBelgium
- TRUSTEES OF PRINCETON UNIVERSITY · Princeton, NjUnited States
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union