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

The high frequency of co-occurrence and co-infection in lions -and the potential for specific associations to cause population decline -highlights the importance of understanding pathogen . CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license is made available under a The copyright holder for this preprint (which was not peer-reviewed) is the author/funder. It . https://doi.org/10.1101/370841 doi: bioRxiv preprint 0 2 0 associations. The summary lion co-occurrence network is highly connected with both positive and negative associations between chronic and acute pathogens and altering the network could assist with disease control. For example, individuals vaccinated for both parvovirus and H. felis could potentially be at lower risk of Babesia and CDV infection. Conversely, our networks show that there could be unintended consequences of controlling a pathogen, as has been shown for deworming (Fenton 2013). For example, it is possible that vaccination targeting coronavirus in this population could increase B. gibsoni infections that may, in turn, lead to a higher risk of CDV exposure. Whilst these relationships are correlative rather than mechanistic, it is clear from our study that relationships between microparasites are common and should be considered in disease management.