The Influence of Environmental Change on Parasite Diffusion through Human, Invertebrate and Environmental Pathways

环境变化对寄生虫通过人类、无脊椎动物和环境途径扩散的影响

• 批准号: 0622743
• 负责人: Robert Spear
• 金额: $ 196.41万
• 依托单位: University of California-Berkeley
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2006
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2006-10-01 至 2013-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0622743&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Influence; Environmental; Change; Parasite; Diffusion

The links between transmission of the snail vector disease, Schistosomiasis, and anthropogenic alterations to watersheds, particularly dam construction, are well established. However, little is understood about the mechanisms by which environmental changes alter the prevalence of the parasite Schistosoma japonicum in human and snail hosts. Parasite diffusion, the transport of parasites in the environment via multiple pathways, may link environmental changes to changes in disease transmission. Parasites are carried in advective flows along canals and streams as both larvae and ova. Within intermediate snail hosts, parasites are conveyed among and between aquatic and riparian habitats, and as adult worms, human and animal hosts serve as transport 'vehicles.' These diffusion pathways are subjected to significant disturbance under the pressures of anthropogenic change. This project by researchers from the University of California - Berkeley aims to comprehensively assess the role of diffusion in parasite transmission, with a specific focus on how anthropogenic change can modify diffusion parameters, thereby influencing transmission. Specific objectives are; 1) to quantify parasite diffusion along and between watersheds in Sichuan Province, Peoples Republic of China, using molecular markers of snail and parasite dispersal and tracking of human and mammalian hosts; 2) to assess the impact of natural and anthropogenic environmental features on parasite diffusion; and 3) to develop mathematical and statistical models of the ecological role of diffusion in the transmission of parasites under a variety of environmental change scenarios. These models will provide mechanistic insights into how environmental modifications can modify parasite mobility, thereby altering transmission. With these data in hand, new recommendations for interventions targeting parasite diffusion will be possible. Among the broader impacts of this project is the demonstration how interdisciplinary research can serve the urgent needs of populations at risk of parasitic disease. To highlight the value of these partnerships, the PIs will initiate a new multidisciplinary seminar on the ecology of infectious disease and establish an undergraduate training component to capitalize on the new Public Health undergraduate major at Berkeley. The larger impact, however, will be in China where the PIs' work bridges the health, engineering and sciences sector, which have traditionally been quite independent in the organization and conduct of research.

螺媒疾病、血吸虫病的传播与人类对流域的改变，特别是大坝建设之间的联系已经确立。然而，关于环境变化改变日本血吸虫寄生虫在人和蜗牛宿主中流行的机制，人们知之甚少。寄生虫扩散，即寄生虫在环境中通过多条途径传播，可能会将环境变化与疾病传播的变化联系起来。寄生虫以幼虫和卵子的形式沿运河和溪流沿平流流传播。在中间的蜗牛宿主中，寄生虫在水生和河岸栖息地之间传播，作为成虫，人类和动物宿主充当运输工具。在人为变化的压力下，这些扩散途径受到显著的干扰。加州大学伯克利分校的这项研究项目旨在全面评估扩散在寄生虫传播中的作用，特别关注人为变化如何改变扩散参数，从而影响传播。具体目标是：1)利用钉螺和寄生虫扩散的分子标记以及对人类和哺乳动物宿主的跟踪，量化寄生虫在中华人民共和国中国四川省的流域沿线和流域之间的扩散；2)评估自然和人为环境特征对寄生虫扩散的影响；3)建立各种环境变化情景下扩散在寄生虫传播中的生态作用的数学和统计模型。这些模型将提供对环境变化如何改变寄生虫迁移率从而改变传播方式的机械性见解。有了这些数据，针对寄生虫传播的新的干预建议将成为可能。该项目的更广泛影响之一是展示了跨学科研究如何满足寄生虫病风险人群的迫切需求。为了强调这些伙伴关系的价值，私人投资机构将发起一个关于传染病生态学的新的多学科研讨会，并建立一个本科生培训部分，以利用伯克利分校新开设的公共卫生本科专业。然而，更大的影响将在中国身上发生，在那里，PI的工作将卫生、工程和科学部门联系起来，这些部门传统上在组织和开展研究方面相当独立。