Department of Applied Mathematics, Western University, London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada.
Department of Applied Mathematics, Western University, London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada.
J Theor Biol. 2020 Oct 21;503:110388. doi: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2020.110388. Epub 2020 Jul 9.
Much work has considered the evolution of pathogens, but little is known about how they respond to changes in host behaviour. We build a model of sublethal disease effects where hosts are able to choose to engage in prophylactic measures that reduce the likelihood of disease transmission. This choice is mediated by utility costs and benefits associated with prophylaxis, and the fraction of hosts engaged in prophylaxis is also affected by population dynamics. When prophylactic host behaviour occurs, we find that the level of pathogen host exploitation is reduced, by the action of selection, relative to the level that would otherwise be predicted in the absence of prophylaxis. Our work emphasizes the significance of the transmission-recovery trade-off faced by the pathogen and the ability of the pathogen to influence host prophylactic behaviour.
许多研究都考虑了病原体的进化,但对于它们如何应对宿主行为变化知之甚少。我们建立了一个亚致死疾病效应模型,在这个模型中,宿主能够选择采取预防措施来降低疾病传播的可能性。这种选择受到与预防相关的效用成本和收益的调节,而参与预防的宿主比例也受到种群动态的影响。当预防性的宿主行为发生时,我们发现相对于没有预防措施时的预测水平,病原体对宿主的剥削程度因选择作用而降低。我们的工作强调了病原体面临的传播-恢复权衡的重要性,以及病原体影响宿主预防行为的能力。