POPULATIONS AND INFECTIOUS-DISEASES - ECOLOGY OR EPIDEMIOLOGY - THE 8TH TANSLEY LECTURE

Considers the role of infectious agents in the regulation of host abundance, one example being the potential demographic impact of AIDS in human communities. The role of various kinds of heterogeneity in determining population abundance is then examined, placing emphasis on the significance of behavioural factors in the transmission of infection. The 3rd section examines the ecological concepts that underpin the design and implementation of programmes for the control of infection and disease. There then follows discussion of how an understanding of the transmission dynamics of infectious agents helps the assessment of the persistence properties of genetically-modified bacteria, where plasmids are the vehicles of the transference of genetic material. Finally, the author examines the population ecology of the immune system. -from Author