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Multiple Stable States of Disease Occurrence: A Note on the Implications for the Anthropological Study of Human Disease
Author(s) -
McGrath Janet W.
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
american anthropologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.51
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1548-1433
pISSN - 0002-7294
DOI - 10.1525/aa.1988.90.2.02a00050
Subject(s) - disease , human disease , predation , identification (biology) , predator , biology , evolutionary biology , ecology , medicine , pathology
Ecologists model human disease using predator‐prey models, with humans as the prey and the pathogen as the predator. Use of these models permits the identification of stable equilibria and stable states of disease prevalence for human host‐parasite systems. May (1977) has described the possibility of the presence of multiple stable states of disease prevalence for human disease systems. The model of multiple stable states implies that historical circumstances are important in determining the occurrence of disease. This model offers a theoretical framework in which to examine the occurrence of epidemics in human populations and to develop a more complete understanding of disease processes.