Drug Resistance or Re-Emergence? Simulating Equine Parasites

Abstract

Emerging drug resistance in parasitology and its impact on human and animal health are of serious concern. Attempts by the parasitology community to address this issue led to the introduction of so-called selective therapy where a proportion of the population is left untreated. This has led to re-emergence of parasites that have heretofore been controlled. Using stochastic simulations, this article explores the tradeoff between drug resistance and re-emergence. More importantly, the article identifies the importance of the parasite fitness parameter vector and its role in drug resistance. Suggestions for further biological work and statistical analyses are also provided.