Ecological epidemiology

Article
16 November 2022 | Open Access

Pathogen spillover driven by rapid changes in bat ecology

A study reveals how land-use change and climate interact to drive the spillover of a zoonotic virus, and identifies an ecological mechanism that prevents spillover.

Peggy Eby
, Alison J. Peel
& Raina K. Plowright

Article
11 August 2022 | Open Access

Context-specific emergence and growth of the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant

Analysis of SARS-CoV-2 genomes from around the world show that following initial importation largely from India, Delta spread in England was driven first by inter-regional travel and then by local population mixing.

John T. McCrone
, Verity Hill
& Moritz U. G. Kraemer

Article | 23 December 2021

SARS-CoV-2 infection in free-ranging white-tailed deer

More than one-third of wild deer tested in northeast Ohio showed evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection of human origin.

Vanessa L. Hale
, Patricia M. Dennis
& Andrew S. Bowman

Letter | 19 November 2018

Cryptic connections illuminate pathogen transmission within community networks

Cryptic connections facilitate the community-wide spread of disease both within and among species.

Joseph R. Hoyt
, Kate E. Langwig
& A. Marm Kilpatrick

Letter | 23 April 2015

Phylogenetic structure and host abundance drive disease pressure in communities

Rare species may have an advantage in a community by suffering less from disease; here it is shown that, because pathogens are shared among species, it is not just the abundance of a particular species but the structure of the whole community that affects exposure to disease.

Ingrid M. Parker
, Megan Saunders
& Gregory S. Gilbert

Letter | 19 February 2014

Disease associations between honeybees and bumblebees as a threat to wild pollinators

Laboratory infection experiments and field data show that emerging infectious diseases of honeybees are widespread infectious agents within the pollinator assemblage; the prevalence of deformed wing virus (DWV) and the parasite Nosema ceranae in honeybees and bumblebees is linked, and sympatric bumblebees and honeybees are infected by the same DWV strains, indicating ongoing disease transmission.

M. A. Fürst
, D. P. McMahon
& M. J. F. Brown

Letter | 13 February 2013

Biodiversity decreases disease through predictable changes in host community competence

A combination of extensive field surveys and realistic experiments involving an amphibian disease system reveals that biodiversity reduces pathogen transmission due to a predictable link between species richness and the ability of communities to support infection.