Predicting the effects of coinfection on TB dynamics, pathology and treatment

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Most animals, including humans in the developing world, are simultaneously infected by multiple pathogen species,termed coinfection. Coinfecting pathogens often interact with one another and this can affect: i) the number of pathogenswithin a host, ii) pathogen transmission between hosts, iii) disease severity and iv) the effectiveness of pathogen controlmeasures (e.g. vaccines). Despite their importance, we know little about the consequences of the vast majority ofcoinfections, as there are so many possible pathogen combinations that could occur in any given host. Our research teamhas developed a way to deal with this complexity, creating a theoretical framework by which the consequences of a widerange of coinfections might be predicted [1,2]. We have already tested this framework in one scenario but for theframework to be useful in a practical context we need to develop it further and test it for a range of pathogencoinfections.