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International Conference on Mathematical Biology and

Annual Meeting of The Society for Mathematical Biology,

July 27-30, 2009

University of British Columbia, Vancouver

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Program

MSD1c
Christopher Kribs-Zaleta
The University of Texas at Arlington
Title Multi-patch sylvatic transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi
Abstract Trypanosoma cruzi, the parasite that causes Chagas' disease, is endemic throughout the Americas (except Canada) in a sylvatic cycle involving hosts such as raccoons and woodrats. In Texas, two transmission cycles overlap, with distinct hosts, vectors, and distinct strains of the parasite. One strain, known to cause Chagas' disease in humans, extends into Mexico; the other, which extends east to Georgia, may be less virulent but is adapted to vertical transmission and provides cross-immunity against other strains. A multi-patch model measures the capacity of the latter strain to resist, through cross-immunity, "invasion" by the first strain.
LocationWoodward 1