A general host–pathogen model with free–living infective stages and differing rates of uptake of the infective stages by infected and susceptible hosts

Abstract

In addition to their lethal effects, pathogens can cause a number of other debilitating effects on infected hosts. A population dynamical model of the interaction between an invertebrate host and a pathogen is constructed to examine the importance of one such debilitating effect on the host population dynamics. Specifically the feeding rate and therefore the uptake of pathogen free-living infective particles by infected individuals is reduced as a consequence of the pathogen infection. The pathogen is more likely to regulate the host and the equilibrium population density of the host is reduced. Less intuitively there is also an increased chance of the pathogen causing cyclic population dynamics in the host.