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Cell Press, Trends in Parasitology, 6(23), p. 284-291, 2007

DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2007.04.005

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Transmission consequences of coinfection: cytokines writ large?

This paper is available in a repository.
This paper is available in a repository.

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Abstract

Coinfection of a host by multiple parasite species is commonly observed and recent epidemiological work indicates that coinfection can enhance parasite transmission. This article proposes an immunoepidemiological framework to understand how within-host interactions during coinfection might affect between-host transmission. Cytokines, immune signalling molecules with a fundamental role in the amplification of antiparasitic effector mechanisms, provide a useful way to simplify immunological complexity for this endeavour--focusing on cytokines offers analytical tractability without sacrificing realism. Testable predictions about the epidemiological consequences of coinfection are generated by this conceptual framework.