Other times, it serves as the breeding ground for mosquitoes, algae, and other life forms that carry disease. He described how the structure of biofilms can make them impervious to purifying chemicals such as chlorine. Under this protective cover, pathogens exchange virulence and anti-biotic resistance factors. He reported that his lab is developing treatment methods that will target pathogens lurking in biofilms.
Water is one way pathogens get around.
Boats, planes, and human beings are another. Mary Wilson sketched the staggering increases in human migration and mobility and the implications of that movement for disease. Wilson noted that as people move around in record numbers, pathogens often tag along for the ride. The global commerce in food, animals, and other goods has given wings to species that were previously confined to one geographic region, explained Wilson. The mosquitoes apparently came into the country on a mail ship from Senegal in west Africa.