V. Andreasen et A. Pugliese, PATHOGEN COEXISTENCE INDUCED BY DENSITY-DEPENDENT HOST MORTALITY, Journal of theoretical biology, 177(2), 1995, pp. 159-165
A model of two competing infectious diseases with complete cross-prote
ction sharing one host allows for coexistence, provided that the host
population is subject to strong density regulation. The phenomenon is
caused by the different ways in which host density affects transmissio
n rate and transmission period. The analysis suggest that disease coex
istence is most likely when the two diseases differ significantly in v
irulence and transmission and that the evolutionary stability of the t
wo-disease association depends critically on details in the functional
relationship between virulence and transmission. (C) 1995 Academic Pr
ess Limited