Norma Rocio Forero

Ms. Norma Rocio Forero


Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

2Years (2025-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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14 February 2025 in Microorganisms
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
NFNorma Rocio Forero
Norma Rocio Forero
GDGabriel Dansereau
Gabriel Dansereau
FVFrancois Viard
Francois Viard
EAEmily Acheson
Emily Acheson
PLPatrick Leighton
Patrick Leighton
TPTimothée Poisot
Timothée Poisot
In this study, we simulated biologically realistic agent-based models over neutral landscapes to examine how spatial structure affects the spread of a rabies-like virus in a two-species system. We built landscapes with varying autocorrelation levels and simulated disease dynamics using different transmission rates for intra- and interspecies spread. The results were analysed based on combinations of spatial landscape structures and transmission rates, focusing on the median number of new reservoir and spillover cases. We found that both spatial landscape structures and viral transmission rates are key factors in determining the number of infected simulated agents and the epidemiological week when the highest number of cases occurs. While isolated habitat patches with elevated carrying capacity pose significant risks for viral transmission, they may also slow the spread compared to more connected patches, depending on the modelled scenario. This study highlights the importance of spatial landscape structure and viral transmission rates in cross-species spread. Our findings have implications for disease control strategies and suggest that future research should also focus on how landscape factors interact with pathogen dynamics, especially in those locations where susceptible agents could be more in contact with pathogens with high transmission rates.