Challenges in modelling the dynamics of infectious diseases at the wildlife–human interface
Epidemics·
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.epidem.2021.100523
- PMID
- 34856500
- PMCID
- PMC8603269
- OpenAlex
- W3215688443
- Study type
- Journal article
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Article type
- journal-article
- Integrity
- current
Why this research matters now
The work is relevant to pandemic risk assessment and preparedness by framing how ecological and anthropogenic processes shape zoonotic spillover and by motivating improved modeling tools for emergence and spread.
Structured evidence summary
Research question
The article reviews the challenges of modeling infectious disease dynamics at the wildlife–human interface, with emphasis on how interface dynamics, pathogen and host diversity, and environmental drivers shape spillover risk.
Study design
The paper is a narrative review discussing modeling challenges for zoonotic spillover and emergence at wildlife–human interfaces.
Population and setting
The focus is conceptual rather than a defined cohort, addressing wildlife reservoirs, human populations at the wildlife–human interface, and broader ecological and anthropogenic drivers.
Main findings
The authors argue that improved understanding is needed of dynamic wildlife–human interfaces, host–pathogen association networks, and the scales at which environmental conditions enable spillover and host shifting. They identify anthropogenic drivers, including climate and land-use change, as central to zoonotic emergence. They state that more detailed and nuanced models are needed to better analyze emergence and spread.
Public-health relevance
The work is relevant to pandemic risk assessment and preparedness by framing how ecological and anthropogenic processes shape zoonotic spillover and by motivating improved modeling tools for emergence and spread.
Important limitations
The summary is limited to the supplied single-article abstract and metadata; the original paper is required for decision-grade interpretation, as the abstract does not detail scope, methodology, or explicit limitations of the review.
GIDS interpretation
The article relates to GIDS discoverability themes of climate and environment, One Health, and transmission dynamics, providing conceptual context for zoonotic spillover modeling rather than confirming or updating any specific surveillance signal.
Related GIDS surveillance
Literature context does not validate, explain, or change a surveillance signal. Exact and contextual relationships are shown separately.
Evidence relationships
This article has 11 auditable classifier relationships to diseases, places, topics, and study design.