Primates and their Parasites: Disease Ecology in a Changing World: Tuesday, February 11th

The North Carolina One Health Collaborate was honored to host Charles Nunn, Ph.D., a Professor of Evolutionary Anthropology and Global Health at Duke University’s Trinity College of Arts and Sciences, as this week’s keynote speaker. Dr. Nunn, who received his Ph.D. from Duke in 1999, left his position at Harvard University this past year to return to the Research Triangle. Prior to his work at Harvard, he held various positions at the Berkeley and Davis campuses of the University of California, the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, and the University of Virginia.

Dr. Nunn currently leads the Comparative Primatology and Research Group at Duke where his lab focuses on the ecology and evolution of infectious diseases in wildlife, particularly among primates and other mammals. His work addresses basic questions about wildlife diseases as well as zoonotic disease risks and the conservation of biodiversity. He conducts large-scale studies on parasites that infect mammals to understand patterns of disease risk in natural systems, especially at the ecological interface between humans and wildlife. Through statistical analysis and modeling, he studies the spread of infectious agents in wildlife populations.

Dr. Nunn began his talk by comparing the number of parasites found in wild primates to those found in humans. The data was staggeringly clear: humans are afflicted with a substantially higher rate of parasites. Interestingly, early humans faced rates comparable to those of modern day wild primates. Dr. Nunn addressed this difference by discussing the changes in our lifestyles, activity levels, as well as the impacts of the agricultural revolution and its influence on the spillover of diseases between humans and animals.

After his introduction, Dr. Nunn’s presentation narrowed and shifted in focus to explicitly illustrate how research that integrates theoretical modeling and broad evolutionary comparisons is providing new insights to infectious disease ecology. Ultimately, it is his hope that these studies and comparisons will continue to increase our understanding of human disease risk, an idea elaborated upon by discussing the details of parasite sharing in wild primates and what this information can tell us about our own infections. Dr. Nunn went on to discuss how population group size influences parasitism in the wild and then explained the intricacies of the various meta-analysis techniques employable for this purpose. These kinds of meta-analysis techniques were also used to determine what the consequences (in terms of disease risk) are when humans disrupt natural ecological communities, another idea brought up by Dr. Nunn. Audience questions focused on these complex meta-analyses and their methodology and application.

Although often overly dramatized in science fiction thriller novels and films, infectious diseases pose a real threat to humans worldwide. If we reduce our focus to just zoonotic diseases, we see the Bas-Congo virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Novel Coronavirus in the Middle East, and the Hantavirus in Yosemite, among others, as present real-life examples of infectious diseases affecting various parts of the world. The pages of history have shown what a profound impact these kinds of diseases and other infectious diseases can have on the cultures, prosperity, and survival of entire population groups. As we look forward toward the remainder of the 21^st century, we must reflect on lessons from the past and acknowledge that infectious diseases will inevitably (and unfortunately) continue to help steer the present direction of our lives and future as a species.

This new century also brings with it novel considerations and unforeseen challenges for us to tackle. The effects of climate change threaten to result in the emersion of new disease vectors that will exacerbate transmission and infection among humans. Furthermore, as bacteria become resistant to our traditional antibiotic treatments, we will be forced to adapt and alter how we practice both veterinarian and human medicine. Ultimately, understanding ecology and evolution will be essential on our path toward addressing problems like these. As shown by Dr. Nunn, adopting a multiple disciplinary perspective might lead to additional insight that will help us discover resolutions.

Post authored by Thomas Woo, a junior majoring in biological sciences (human biology concentration) at North Carolina State University.