Effectiveness analysis of resistance and tolerance to infection

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Tolerance and resistance provide animals with two distinct strategies to fight infectious pathogens and may exhibit different evolutionary dynamics. However, few studies have investigated these mechanisms in the case of animal diseases under commercial constraints.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The paper proposes a method to simultaneously describe (1) the dynamics of transmission of a contagious pathogen between animals, (2) the growth and death of the pathogen within infected hosts and (3) the effects on their performances. The effectiveness of increasing individual levels of tolerance and resistance is evaluated by the number of infected animals and the performance at the population level.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The model is applied to a particular set of parameters and different combinations of values. Given these imputed values, it is shown that higher levels of individual tolerance should be more effective than increased levels of resistance in commercial populations. As a practical example, a method is proposed to measure levels of animal tolerance to bovine mastitis.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The model provides a general framework and some tools to maximize health and performances of a population under infection. Limits and assumptions of the model are clearly identified so it can be improved for different epidemiological settings.</p

The use of visual and automatized behavioral markers to assess methodologies: a study case on PIT-tagging in the Alpine newt

peer reviewedBiomarkers are now widely used as tools in various research fields to assess individual integrity. The recent advances in quantification methods of behavioral patterns, such as computerized video-tracking procedures, make them valuable biomarkers. However, the corollary of these novelties is that they remain relatively unknown and unused. In this study, we show that such tools can assess the validity of research methods, such as individual recognition. To demonstrate this we employed as a model a marking method (Passive Integrate Transponders: PIT-tagging) widely used in amphibians. Both detailed visual observations and video-tracking methods were complementary in highlighting components at different behavioral scales: locomotion, feeding, and breeding. We illustrate the scientific and ethical adequacy of the targeted marking method but also suggest that more studies should integrate behavioral analyses. Such biomarkers are a powerful tool to assess conservation concerns when other techniques cannot detect detrimental effects

The parasitic worm product ES-62 normalises the gut microbiota bone marrow axis in inflammatory arthritis

Gastrointestinal infection with parasitic helminths can protect against mucosal diseases via impacting on the microbiome. Here the authors show that ES-62, a product secreted by a tissue-resident helminth modulates the host gut microbiome to protect against inflammatory arthritis in a mouse model