Meeting Abstract
Much research has been done on the long-term adaptive consequences of migration; however, less attention has been focused on short-term health effects of human travel. When traveling, individuals may experience new environments and new microbiomes that impact their health. While this travel might be short-lived, there may be longer-term consequences. What happens to an individual’s immune response when they are introduced to a new environment? How might this impact immigration patterns and spread of disease across native and immigrant populations? This research examined the physiological changes that occurred in a group of 16 North Americans in 2017 and 15 individuals in 2018 in the Peruvian Amazon for three weeks, 9 individuals in Patagonia, Chile in 2019, and 4 individuals in London, England. Specifically, we examined weight, body temperature, and neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio. These variables were measured before the expedition, at the end of the expedition, and after their return to the United States. All collected data was analyzed using ANOVA and PCA. Initial results suggest an increase in immune response without any documented illness and potential negative correlations between immune activity and weight loss. This may suggest that the human body will initiate an immune response simply from exposure to a novel microbial environment, not solely in response to illness.
