Disease Ecology

Disease ecology studies how pathogens including bacteria, viruses and parasites interact with their host environment and how they are able to colonize new hosts, sometimes becoming more or potentially less pathogenic. Environmental factors including degradation of habitat are also studied as a part of disease ecology since changes to the environment may alter how pathogens and their hosts respond to each other. Weakened immune systems of host species and changed environmental conditions may be favorable to increased pathogenicity, host jumping or emergence of new diseases or reemergence of known diseases.