Dose-dependent interaction of parasites with tiers of host defense predicts "wormholes" that prolong infection at intermediate inoculum sizes.
Immune responses are induced by parasite exposure and can in turn reduce Ball Valves parasite burden.Despite such apparently simple rules of engagement, key drivers of within-host dynamics, including dose-dependence of defense and infection duration, have proven difficult to predict.Here, we model how varied inoculating doses interact with multi-ti