Amoroso Caroline R, Gibson Amanda K, Vale Pedro F
Department of Biology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22903, USA.
Department of Biology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22903, USA.
Curr Biol. 2025 May 19;35(10):R367-R372. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2025.04.031.
Since our first understanding of the nature of pathogen and parasite transmission, avoidance of infectious diseases has been an essential component of public health and epidemic suppression. Avoidance reduces an individual's risk of contacting pathogens. Humans are not the only host organisms that avoid their pathogens and parasites, though. In nature, infection avoidance is widespread in vertebrates, invertebrates, and even plants. Examining avoidance from this unified taxonomic perspective gives insights into its function, form, evolution, and application. In this Primer, we functionally define avoidance, outline its taxonomic breadth, provide an overview of what is known about its mechanisms and evolution, and identify applications of basic avoidance knowledge across fields as diverse as public health, conservation, and agriculture. We also highlight key open questions directing research into the future.
自从我们首次了解病原体和寄生虫传播的本质以来，避免传染病一直是公共卫生和疫情防控的重要组成部分。避免接触可降低个体感染病原体的风险。然而，人类并非唯一会躲避其病原体和寄生虫的宿主生物。在自然界中，避免感染在脊椎动物、无脊椎动物甚至植物中都很普遍。从这种统一的分类学角度审视避免感染，有助于深入了解其功能、形式、进化及应用。在本入门文章中，我们从功能上定义了避免感染，概述了其在分类学上的广度，提供了关于其机制和进化的已知情况的综述，并确定了基本的避免感染知识在公共卫生、保护和农业等不同领域的应用。我们还强调了指导未来研究的关键开放性问题。
