Collaborative Research: SGER: Microparasite-Macroparasite Interactions - A Case Study of Bovine TB and Gastrointestinal Nematode Infections in African Buffalo

合作研究：SGER：微小寄生虫与大型寄生虫的相互作用 - 非洲水牛牛结核病和胃肠道线虫感染的案例研究

• 批准号: 0541762
• 负责人: Vanessa Ezenwa
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Montana
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2005
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2005-10-01 至 2006-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0541762&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; SGER; Microparasite; Macroparasite

Parasites and infectious diseases are increasingly being recognized as important factors driving mammalian ecology and evolution, and parasite co-infections can modify the effects of infectious disease on hosts in several ways. In humans, increasing evidence suggests that macroparasite (helminth) infections influence the susceptibility to and severity of microparasitic infections such as HIV and TB. However, much less is known about micro- and macroparasite interactions in wildlife, despite the high prevalence of co-infections in many natural systems. This research will examine interactions between gastrointestinal nematode infections and bovine tuberculosis in African buffalo at Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park, South Africa. Free-ranging TB-negative buffalo will be treated with a long-lasting anthelmintic drug in order to (1) test the effects of nematode removal on host susceptibility to TB infection by evaluating changes in host body condition and immunological parameters in response to treatment; and (2) determine the impact of treatment on TB transmission by comparing TB transmission rates in treated and untreated animals. By linking observed micro- and macroparasite infection patterns with underlying immunological, physiological and population dynamic mechanisms, this work will broaden understanding of the role parasite interactions play in the dynamics of infectious diseases in wildlife.

寄生虫和传染病越来越被认为是驱动哺乳动物生态和进化的重要因素，寄生虫的混合感染可以通过多种方式改变传染病对宿主的影响。在人类中，越来越多的证据表明，大型寄生虫(蠕虫)感染会影响艾滋病毒和结核病等微寄生虫感染的易感性和严重性。然而，尽管许多自然系统中的混合感染很普遍，但人们对野生动物中微寄生虫和大型寄生虫的相互作用知之甚少。这项研究将在南非Hluhluwe-iMfolozi公园检查非洲水牛胃肠道线虫感染和牛结核病之间的相互作用。自由放养的结核病阴性水牛将接受一种长效驱虫药的治疗，目的是(1)通过评估治疗后宿主状况和免疫参数的变化，测试去除线虫对宿主感染结核病易感性的影响；以及(2)通过比较治疗和未治疗动物中的结核病传播率，确定治疗对结核病传播的影响。通过将观察到的微型和大型寄生虫感染模式与潜在的免疫、生理和种群动态机制联系起来，这项工作将扩大对寄生虫相互作用在野生动物传染病动态中所起作用的理解。