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Modeling Zoonotic Infectious Diseases from Wildlife to Humans (Prof. Linda J. S. Allen)
February 23, 2022 @ 4:15 pm - 5:30 pm
Title: Modeling Zoonotic Infectious Diseases from Wildlife to Humans
Speaker: Prof. Linda J. S. Allen, P. W. Horn Distinguished Professor Emeritus Texas Tech University
Abstract: Zoonotic infectious diseases are diseases transmitted from animals to humans. It is estimated that over 60% of human infectious diseases are zoonotic. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified eight priority zoonoses in the US. Three of the priority zoonoses are avian influenza, Lyme disease, and emerging coronaviruses. Spillover of infections from animals to humans depends on a complex pathway from the natural wildlife reservoir. The natural reservoir for avian influenza virus is wild birds but it is spread to humans from infected chickens. The natural reservoir for the bacterial pathogen causing Lyme disease is mice but it is transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected tick vector. In this presentation, we discuss a few of the modeling efforts to better understand the spread of infection in the natural reservoir and the spillover to humans as well as the impacts of demographic and environmental variability on timing of spillover.
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