Chronic infections can shape epidemic exposure: Pathogen co-occurrence networks in the Serengeti lions

Nicholas M. Fountain-Jones; Craig Packer; Maude Jacquot; F. Guillaume Blanchet; Karen Terio; Meggan E. Craft

Identifying and determining the nature of species interactions of multiple pathogens within hosts is increasingly considered critical to understanding infectious disease dynamics (e.g., Pedersen & Fenton 2007; Johnson et al. 2015; Seabloom et al. 2015; Fountain-Jones et al. 2018) . Individuals are often co-infected by a diverse infra-community of pathogens, and interactions between pathogens can both alter infection dynamics (Cattadori et al. 2008; Susi et al. 2015) and influence disease outcomes (Moss et al. 2008; Munson et al. 2008; Wejse et al. 2015) . Pathogens that form chronic, long-lasting infections are ubiquitous and are likely to overlap pathogens that produce short-lasting acute infections (Fenton 2008; Randall et al. 2013; Rynkiewicz et al. 2015; Aivelo & Norberg 2018) . Chronic pathogens can compete for the same resources as acute pathogens and can reduce the likelihood of infection (Randall et al. 2013; Budischak et al. 2018) or, conversely, facilitate infection via immune suppression (e.g., Geldmacher & Koup 2012) .