calendarInvited workshop: coinfections — from within-host to between hosts
When: May 24-25, 2007
Where: 510 Mueller Lab, University Park (map)
Contact: Isabella Cattadori
Background and aims
Free living hosts are usually inhabited by a whole community of parasitic species. Understanding how co-infections interact represents one of the next challanges in the study of infectious diseases. Yet many of the molecular processes involved in co-infection are still unclear, as are the epidemiological consequences for parasite dynamics.
Host immunity plays a major role in modulating co-infections. Systemic and localized immune-effectors are recruited at different stages of the co-infection process and the specificity of the response is striking. The balance can lean towards one or the other parasite, evolve towards a stable equilibrium or get out of control. When and how does this happen? How much detail do we need to know? What are the consequences for disease persistence?
The aims of this meeting are:
- To characterize the peculiarities of the within-host mechanisms of co-infection, and to identify common patterns across different systems
- To examine how within-host molecular processes can explain individual variation in period of infectiousness and transmission likelihood
- To predict the consequences of such interactions on the dynamics of infection at the host population level
Agenda
Thurs, May 24
- 9:30-12:30 Session 1: Malaria - worm coinfections. Short presentations and discussion
- 12:30-13:30 Lunch
- 13:30-17:00 Session 2: Macroparasite coinfections. Short presentations and discussion
Fri, May 25
- 9:30-12:30 Session 1: Bacterial coinfections. Short presentations and discussion
- 12:30-13:30 Lunch
- 13:30-17:00 Session 2: HIV coinfections with other pathogens and parasites. Short presentations and discussion
Questions to stimulate discussion
- How are immune-mediated interactions affected by direct competition between parasites? At what level is "parasite direct interaction" important?
- Is the spatial compartmentalization of co-infecting species relevant? Does parasite niche change with co-infection?
- Does co-infection affect a specific stage of the infection process, establishment or expulsion? How does it change through time?
- Is the transmission route and timing of co-infection important?
- How can we link immunology with epidemiology? (Can we identify key parameters that can be use to compare co-infections between different systems?)
- Is the generic Th1/Th2 polarization useful to explain the dynamics of co-infection? How much accuracy do we need?
- Does co-infection increase variability within hosts?
- Is co-infection a transitory phase that evolves towards a system with a dominant single species infection?
- How does co-infection affect the timing of infection and disease spread? Does it go faster/slower than a single infection or do host heterogeneities filter the output?