Epidemiological transitions in human evolution and the richness of viruses, helminths, and protozoa

Amoroso, Caroline R., and Charles L. Nunn. “Epidemiological transitions in human evolution and the richness of viruses, helminths, and protozoa.” Evolution, medicine, and public health 9, no. 1 (2021): 139-148.
URL1 URL2

In absolute terms, humans are extremely highly parasitized compared to other primates. This may reflect that humans are outliers in traits correlated with parasite richness: population density, geographic range area, and study effort. The high degree of parasitism could also reflect amplified disease risk associated with agriculture and urbanization. Alternatively, controlling for other variables, cultural and psychological adaptations could have reduced parasitism in humans over evolutionary time.

Related articles