The Evolution Of Covert, Silent Infection As A Parasite Strategy

Main Category: Infectious Diseases / Bacteria / Viruses
Also Included In: Biology / Biochemistry
Article Date: 11 Mar 2009 - 8:00 PDT

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Many pathogens cause disease in some infections, but are also carried by outwardly healthy hosts. These so called silent or covert infections are common in nature and examples in humans may include herpes and tuberculosis.

Using evolutionary theory we predict when this type of infection is likely to be a parasite strategy. We show that covert infection can evolve in response to population and environmental fluctuations.

New detection techniques are revealing that many more pathogens exhibit silent behaviour and therefore understanding the role of covert infection may be key in controlling the spread of many common diseases.

Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

Proceedings B is the Royal Society's flagship biological research journal, dedicated to the rapid publication and broad dissemination of high-quality research papers, reviews and comment and reply papers. The scope of the journal is diverse and is especially strong in organismal biology.

Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences