The impact of within-host coinfection interactions on between-host parasite transmission dynamics varies with spatial scale

However, the impact of these within-host interactions on between-host parasite transmission, and the spatial scales over which they occur, remain unknown. We developed and applied a novel spatially explicit analysis to parasite infection data from a wild wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus) population.

We previously demonstrated a strong within-host negative interaction between two wood mouse gastrointestinal parasites, the nematode Heligmosomoides polygyrus, and the coccidian Eimeria hungaryensis, using drug-treatment experiments. Here, we show this negative within-host interaction can significantly alter the between-host transmission dynamics of E. hungaryensis, but only within spatially-restricted neighbourhoods around each host.