Herwig Leirs

This study uses a model to show that disease dynamics during ecosystem restoration depend on pathogen transmissibility, timing of slow life history species establishment, and community assembly, not just biodiversity.

This study detects and characterizes coronaviruses in rodents and bats from four European countries, identifying new viral lineages and highlighting potential zoonotic risks.

The paper investigates how biodiversity and habitat changes affect pathogen communities in European forests and urban areas, finding that host diversity increases pathogen richness but urbanization reduces certain pathogens.

The paper reports the detection of 15 virus strains in 27 African wild mammal species and one domesticated species, highlighting new host ranges and potential zoonotic risks.

The paper examines microparasite prevalence in Southern giant pouched rats in Tanzania, finding high Bartonella prevalence and habitat-related infection patterns.

This study investigates Ebola virus circulation in wildlife and human interactions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, finding antibodies in wildlife and humans but no active virus, suggesting seasonal spillover risks.

The paper shows density increases network connectedness in wild animal populations, but effects saturate, with stronger spatial than social impacts.

The paper identifies MPXV diversity in three rodent species in the DRC, showing multiple clades and proximity to human populations.

This paper conducts a meta-analysis of 226 effect sizes from 80 studies to examine how host personality traits relate to parasitic infection, finding that experimental infections reduce activity and exploration, while observational studies show activity-exploration correlates with infection risk.

This study evaluates the impact of anthelmintic treatments on helminth and microparasite dynamics in wild Mastomys natalensis, finding that pyrantel pamoate reduces gastrointestinal nematodes and correlates with decreased Morogoro virus seropositivity.

This study detects antibodies against 15 arboviruses in Mastomys natalensis, revealing seroprevalence and potential role in arbovirus transmission.

This study conducted SARS-CoV-2 surveillance in all mammal species at two Flemish zoos between 2020 and 2021, finding no positive results in faecal or serum samples.

The paper compares Morogoro arenavirus infection patterns in naturally and experimentally infected mice, finding that 52% of natural infections match lab data, with mismatches attributed to chronic infections, maternal antibodies, and detection limits.