Response

摘要

WE AGREE WITH RAOULT THAT OUR STUDY emphasizes the need to consider coinfection and interactions between parasites and pathogens in predictive epidemiological models of human diseases. Indeed, one of the objectives of our work is to use wild-rodent model systems to throw light on questions of medical importance. We believe that studies of infec- tions in wild rodents can complement research based on humans and laboratory rodents. Like human populations, wild-rodent populations are genetically variable and are subjected to changing environmental conditions and a range of pathogens, and their close relationship to laboratory rodents facilitates the use of advanced immunological and genomic approaches to understand host-pathogen interactions (/). Moreover, because of their short generation time, wild rodents lend themselves to both detailed observational studies and manipulative experiments (2, 3). Our study demonstrates the power of such an approach.