The effects of subcurative praziquantel treatment on life-history traits and trade-offs in drug-resistant Schistosoma mansoni
Tests hypothesis that spread of resistant Schistosoma mansoni may be limited by life‐history costs not present in susceptible counterparts
Abstract
Natural selection acts on all organisms, including parasites, to maximize reproductive fitness. Drug resistance traits are often associated with life‐history costs in the absence of treatment. Schistosomiasis control programmes rely on mass drug administration to reduce human morbidity and mortality. Although hotspots of reduced drug efficacy have been reported, resistance is not widespread. Using Bayesian state‐space models (SSMs) fitted to data from an in vivo laboratory system, we tested the hypothesis that the spread of resistant Schistosoma mansoni may be limited by life‐history costs not present in susceptible counterparts. S. mansoni parasites from a praziquantel‐susceptible (S), a praziquantel‐resistant (R) or a mixed line of originally resistant and susceptible parasites (RS) were exposed to a range of praziquantel doses.
This work arises from the Zoonoses and Emerging Livestock Systems (ZELS) programme.
Citation
Viana M, Faust C, Haydon D, Webster J, Lamberton P (2017). The effects of subcurative praziquantel treatment on life-history traits and trade-offs in drug-resistant Schistosoma mansoni. Evol Appl. 11(4): 488-500