Five challenges in evolution and infectious diseases.

Authors :: Metcalf CJ
Birger RB
Funk S
Kouyos RD
Lloyd-Smith JO
Jansen VA
Source :: Epidemics [Epidemics] 2015 Mar; Vol. 10, pp. 40-4. Date of Electronic Publication: 2014 Dec 18.
Publication Year :: 2015
Abstract: Evolution is a key aspect of the biology of many pathogens, driving processes ranging from immune escape to changes in virulence. Because evolution is inherently subject to feedbacks, and because pathogen evolution plays out at scales ranging from within-host to between-host and beyond, evolutionary questions provide special challenges to the modelling community. In this article, we provide an overview of five challenges in modelling the evolution of pathogens and their hosts, and point to areas for development, focussing in particular on the issue of linking theory and data.<br /> (Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)