ArticleProceedings. Biological sciences2003
Sub-lethal effects of pathogens can lead to the evolution of lower virulence in multiple infections.
Article in Proceedings. Biological sciences, 2003. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 30 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
30 citing papers in PubMed.
- Simultaneous and Sequential Coexposures ofmicroPublication biology · 2026Article
- A Coprological Investigation of Endoparasites in One-Horned Rhinoceros (Veterinary medicine international · 2026Article
- Prevalence of Intestinal Parasites in Captive Asian Elephants (Elephas maximus Linnaeus, 1758) in Central Nepal.Veterinary medicine and science · 2025Article
- Assessing rates of parasite coinfection and spatiotemporal strain variation via metabarcoding: Insights for the conservation of European turtle doves Streptopelia turtur.Molecular ecology · 2022Article
- Field Efficacy of Metarhizium rileyi Applications Against Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in Maize.Neotropical entomology · 2021Article
- Gastrointestinal parasites of indigenous pigs (Sus domesticus) in south-central Nepal.Veterinary medicine and science · 2021Article
- Intraspecific competition for host resources in a parasite.Current biology : CB · 2021Article
- Large and finite sample properties of a maximum-likelihood estimator for multiplicity of infection.PloS one · 2018Article
- Competition, virulence, host body mass and the diversification of macro-parasites.Journal of the Royal Society, Interface · 2014Article
- The effect of anthelmintic treatment on coccidia oocyst shedding in a wild mammal host with intermittent cestode infection.TheScientificWorldJournal · 2014Article
- Article
- Dances with worms: the ecological and evolutionary impacts of deworming on coinfecting pathogens.Parasitology · 2013Article
- Seasonal variability of prevalence and occurrence of multiple infections shape the population structure of Crithidia bombi, an intestinal parasite of bumblebees (Bombus spp.).MicrobiologyOpen · 2012Article
- Virulence of mixed fungal infections in honey bee brood.Frontiers in zoology · 2012Article
- Article
- The impact of multiple infections on wild animal hosts: a review.Infection ecology & epidemiology · 2011Article
- Mixed genotype transmission bodies and virions contribute to the maintenance of diversity in an insect virus.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2010Article
- Genetic structure of Schistosoma mansoni in western Kenya: The effects of geography and host sharingInternational journal for parasitology · 2009Article
- Introduction. Ecological immunology.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2009Article
- The synergistic effect of concomitant schistosomiasis, hookworm, and trichuris infections on children's anemia burden.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2008Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
According to current evolutionary dogma, multiple infections generally increase a parasite's virulence (i.e. reduce the host's reproductive success). The basic idea is that the competitive interactions among strains of parasites developing within a single host select individual parasites to exploit their host more rapidly than their competitors (thereby causing an increase in virulence) to ensure their transmission. Although experimental evidence is scarce, it often contradicts the theoretical expectation by suggesting that multiple infections lead to decreased virulence. Here, we present a theoretical model to explain this contradiction and show that the evolutionary outcome of multiple infections depends on the characteristics of the interaction between the host and its parasite. If we assume, as current models do, that parasites have only lethal effects on their host, multiple infections indeed increase virulence. By contrast, if parasites have sub-lethal effects on their host (such as reduced growth) and, in particular, if these effects feed back onto the parasites to reduce their rate of development, then multiplicity of infection generally leads to lower virulence.
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