Host specificity

Host specificity is the degree to which a parasite infects or depends on one or a limited range of host species. It varies among parasites and can differ across life stages or environments.

Host range: The set of host species that a parasite can infect or use. Host specificity describes how narrowly a parasite’s host range is restricted.
Zoonosis: An infectious disease naturally transmitted between vertebrate animals and humans. Assessing animal host range helps identify parasites capable of infecting people.
Specialist species: A species that uses a narrow range of resources or habitats. A specialist parasite typically exploits fewer host species than a generalist parasite.
Koala retrovirus: A retrovirus infecting koalas, with endogenous and transmissible forms. Its known host association illustrates a parasite closely linked to one host species.
Host–parasite coevolution: Reciprocal evolutionary change in interacting hosts and parasites. Reciprocal adaptation can narrow or expand which hosts a parasite can exploit.
Spillover infection: An infection that passes from a reservoir host population into a new host population. Spillover occurs when a parasite crosses its usual host boundary.
Generalist species: A species able to use a broad range of resources or habitats. Generalist parasites often infect hosts from multiple species or groups.
Plasmodium: A genus of protozoan parasites that causes malaria in vertebrates. Different Plasmodium species vary in the vertebrate hosts they infect.
Host–parasite interaction: The ecological and evolutionary relationship between a host organism and a parasite. Host specificity is one property of the broader host–parasite relationship.
Biological control: The use of living organisms to suppress pests, weeds, or disease agents. Narrow host specificity can reduce risks to non-target species in parasite-based control.

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