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Updated: May 1, 2026

Methodology for Developing Life Tables for Sessile Insects in the Field Using the Whitefly, Bemisia tabaci, in Cotton As a Model System
Published on: November 1, 2017
Modelling parasite aggregation: disentangling statistical and ecological approaches
Laith Yakob1, Ricardo J Soares Magalhães1, Darren J Gray1
1The University of Queensland, School of Population Health, Brisbane, Qld, Australia.
Abstract:
The overdispersion in macroparasite infection intensity among host populations is commonly simulated using a constant negative binomial aggregation parameter. We describe an alternative to utilising the negative binomial approach and demonstrate important disparities in intervention efficacy projections that can come about from opting for pattern-fitting models that are not process-explicit. We present model output in the context of the epidemiology and control of soil-transmitted helminths due to the significant public health burden imposed by these parasites, but our methods are applicable to other infections with demonstrable aggregation in parasite numbers among hosts.
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