What are the underlying drivers of the spatio-temporal patterns of parasitic diseases?

Parasites represent more than one-third of the Earths total biodiversity. They display an intriguing world-wide geographical variation in richness and prevalence, influenced by the many different alternate host species involved in the life cycle. These features make them particularly sensitive to global anthropogenic induced environmental changes, but also challenging to predict. To develop evidence-based predictive models for the emergence and changing transmission patterns of parasitic diseases, we need to discover basic ecological and biological mechanisms. In my team we work to reveal how anthropogenic changes (climate change, biodiversity loss and habitat disruption) influence parasite distributions and dynamics. We like to combine conceptual and methodological approaches from different discplines, ranging from macroecology, disease ecology to epidemiology and parasitology. We use historical data from museum collections, field-collected data and big-scale parasitological databases, coupled with the power of manipulative experiments and novel environmental DNA-methods. Studies are mainly snail- and mosquito-borne parasites - in Africa, and in Denmark. Toolbox inlcude Bayesian geostatistical modelling, species distribution models, warming experiments and more..

Climate change and snail-borne diseases

Climate change is affecting the spread and dynamics of many prevalent infectious diseases. Snail-borne parasites that use tiny freshwater snails as intermediate hosts and infect a wide range of other species, from livestock to birds and even humans, are no exception. We use historical and newly field-collected field-data on parasite and snail distributions in statistical and mathemathical models to map the current and future risk of schistosomiasis in Africa. We also do warming experiments to determine effects on parasite-snail phenology and transmission potential. 

Mapping Neglected Tropical Diseases and their vectors

The basis for understanding the changing geographical patterns of infectious diseases, is solid baseline data. In a collaboration with our partners at the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, we continuously work to compile and provide historical and contemporary survey data on neglected tropical diseases through the  gntd.org project. We also work to make historical museum collection data on intermediate snail hosts and insect vectors available for research and health planning.

The research platform for Disease Ecology, Climate and Health

We recently received funding from the danish Knud Højgaards Fund to establish new research platform to shed light on how climate change affects the spread of freshwater snails and their parasites in temperate regions. The platform is based at Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate, University of Copenhagen, and will provide opportunities for cross-disciplinary collaborative projects within the field of snail-borne disease ecology, health and climate, between researcher in Denmark and abroad 

Biodiversity and Health

Human-induced environmental changes, such as habitat fragmentation, can inadvertently increase the risk of parasitic diseases by reducing predators and biodiversity. We study how the composition and diversity of freshwater snail communities influence the transmission potential of snail-borne parasitic diseases, such as schistosomiasis and fascioliasis. We apply a mix empirical and experimental approaches to study the links between biodiversity and disease risk.