Competing for blood: the ecology of parasite resource competition in human malaria–helminth co‐infections

Ecological theory suggests that co‐infecting parasite species can interact within hosts directly, via host immunity and/or via resource competition. In mice, competition for red blood cells (RBCs) between malaria and bloodsucking helminths can regulate malaria population dynamics, but the importance...

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Published inEcology letters Vol. 21; no. 4; pp. 536 - 545
Main Authors Budischak, Sarah A., Wiria, Aprilianto E., Hamid, Firdaus, Wammes, Linda J., Kaisar, Maria M. M., Lieshout, Lisette, Sartono, Erliyani, Supali, Taniawati, Yazdanbakhsh, Maria, Graham, Andrea L., Coulson, Tim
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published England Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.04.2018
Subjects
Ascaris lumbricoides
Competition
co‐infection interactions
Ecological effects
Erythrocytes
Hookworms
Immunity
Infections
Malaria
Parasites
Plasmodium falciparum
Plasmodium vivax
resource competition
Vector-borne diseases
within‐host ecology
Hookworms
Ascaris lumbricoides
Plasmodium falciparum
Plasmodium vivax
within-host ecology
resource competition
co-infection interactions
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Summary:Ecological theory suggests that co‐infecting parasite species can interact within hosts directly, via host immunity and/or via resource competition. In mice, competition for red blood cells (RBCs) between malaria and bloodsucking helminths can regulate malaria population dynamics, but the importance of RBC competition in human hosts was unknown. We analysed infection density (i.e. the concentration of parasites in infected hosts), from a 2‐year deworming study of over 4000 human subjects. After accounting for resource‐use differences among parasites, we find evidence of resource competition, priority effects and a competitive hierarchy within co‐infected individuals. For example reducing competition via deworming increased Plasmodium vivax densities 2.8‐fold, and this effect is limited to bloodsucking hookworms. Our ecological, resource‐based perspective sheds new light into decades of conflicting outcomes of malaria–helminth co‐infection studies with significant health and transmission consequences. Beyond blood, investigating within‐human resource competition may bring new insights for improving human health.
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ISSN:1461-023X
1461-0248
DOI:10.1111/ele.12919