JOINT MATHEMATICS COLLOQUIUMUNIVERSITY OF IDAHOWASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY |
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Abstract |
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Equine Infectious Anemia Virus (EIAV) is a
retrovirus that establishes a persistent infection in horses and
ponies. The virus is in the same lentivirus subgroup that
includes human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The similarities between
these two viruses make the study of the immune response to EIAV
relevant to research on HIV. I will present mathematical models of
within-host EIAV infection dynamics that include immune responses.
Models are fit to data from horses with severe combined
immunodeficiency to estimate viral dynamic parameters. Analysis of the
models yields results on thresholds that would be necessary for immune
responses to successfully control infection. Furthermore, model
results predict the conditions under which multiple competing strains
coexist or a subdominant viral strain escapes antibody neutralization
and dominates the infection. Numerical simulations are presented
to illustrate the results. These findings have the potential to lead to
immunological control measures for lentiviral infection.
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