WITHIN-HOST PARASITE DYNAMICS, EMERGING TRADE-OFF, AND EVOLUTION OF VIRULENCE WITH IMMUNE SYSTEM

Virulence is an evolutionary paradox because parasites never benefit from their host's death. The adaptive explanation of virulence is classically based upon the existence of physiological constraints that create a trade-off between parasites' epidemiological traits (virulence, transmissib...

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Published inEvolution Vol. 57; no. 7; pp. 1489 - 1497
Main Authors André, Jean-Baptiste, Ferdy, Jean-Baptiste, Godelle, Bernard
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States Society for the Study of Evolution 01.07.2003
Oxford University Press
Subjects
Acute infections
Biological Evolution
Cellular immunity
Disease models
Epidemiology
Evolution
evolution of virulence
Host-Parasite Interactions
Immune system
Immunity
Immunity, Innate
Infections
microparasites
Models, Biological
Mortality
Parasite hosts
Parasites
REGULAR ARTICLES
specific immunity
trade-off
Virulence
within-host models
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Summary:Virulence is an evolutionary paradox because parasites never benefit from their host's death. The adaptive explanation of virulence is classically based upon the existence of physiological constraints that create a trade-off between parasites' epidemiological traits (virulence, transmissibility, and clearance). Here we develop an epidemiological model where infections are dynamic processes and we demonstrate how these dynamics generate a trade-off between emerging epidemiological parameters. We then study how host's immune strength modifies this trade-off and hence influences virulence evolution. We found that in acute infections, where parasites are engaged in a race with immune cells, immunity restrains more the duration of the infection than its intensity. As a consequence parasites evolve to provoke more virulent but shorter infections in strongly immunized hosts.
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ISSN:0014-3820
1558-5646
DOI:10.1554/02-667