Heitzman-Breen, Nora G

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VCU Scholars Compass

Virginia Commonwealth University VCU Scholars Compass Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference 2022 May 20th, 11:30 AM - 12:00 PM Modeling the dynamics of Usutu virus infection in birds Nora G. Heitzman-Breen Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, norab@vt.edu Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/bamm  Part of the Life Sciences Commons, Medicine and Health Sciences Commons, and the Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/bamm/2022/fri/4 This Event is brought to you for free and open access by the Dept. of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics at VCU Scholars Compass. It has been accepted for inclusion in Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference by an authorized administrator of VCU Scholars Compass. For more information, please contact libcompass@vcu.edu. Modeling the dynamics of Usutu virus infection in birdsNora Heitzman-Breen, Jacob Golden, Sarah C. Kuchinsky, Francesca Frere, Christa F.Honaker, Paul B. Siegel, Tanya LeRoith, Nisha K. Duggal, Stanca CiupeUsutu virus is a mosquito-borne flavivirus maintained in wild bird populations, causing highavian mortality rates and occasional severe neurological disorders in humans.  It has beenhypothesized that increased Usutu virus replication in birds and/or decreased bird immunecompetence leads to increased mosquitoes infection and increased spillover in humans. Toprovide insight into the intrinsic complexity of host-virus processes in birds, we use within–hostmathematical models to characterize the mechanisms responsible for virus expansion andclearance in juvenile chickens challenged with four Usutu virus strains. Several virus strains areco-circulating in the wild, and we find heterogeneity between the virus strains, with the timebetween cell infection and viral production varying between 16 h and 23 h, the infected celllifespan varying between 48 min and 9.5 h, and the basic reproductive number varying between12.05 and 19.49. The strains with high basic reproductive number have short infected celllifespan, indicative of immune responses. The virus strains with low basic reproductive numberhave lower viral peaks and longer lasting viremia, due to lower infection rates and high infectedcell lifespan. These results can be used to better determine which virus strain is the most likelyto spillover in the human population. We also investigate the effect of antibody on virusdynamics by fitting the models to chickens that were genetically engineered to have low andhigh antibody count; and show that the viral clearance rate is a stronger mitigating factor forUSUV viremia than neutralizing antibody response in this avian model.

Modeling the dynamics of Usutu virus infection in birds

https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1440&context=bamm

Modeling the dynamics of Usutu virus infection in birds

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