The relation between host competence and vector-feeding preference in a multi-host model: Chagas and Cutaneous Leishmaniasis

Vector-borne diseases that occur in humans, as well as in domestic and wild reservoir hosts, cause a significant concern in public health, veterinary health, and ecological health in bio-diverse environments. The majority of vector-borne zoonotic diseases are transmitted among diverse host species, but different hosts have their own ability to transmit pathogens and to attract vectors. These combined transmission mechanisms in hosts and vectors are often called "host competencies" and "vector-feeding preferences." The purpose of this research is to assess the relationship between the host's ability to transmit the pathogen to vectors and the different feeding preferences for a specific host using a multi-host mathematical model. Working with zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis and Chagas disease, numerical simulations illustrate these vector-host populations' behavior together for the first time. Global sensitivity analyses confirm that the basic reproductive number, R0, is more sensitive to the the vector-demographic and biting-rate parameters in both diseases. Therefore, in this era of remarkable biodiversity loss and increased vector-borne diseases, it is crucial to understand how vector-host interaction mechanisms affect disease dynamics in humans within wildlife and domestic settings.