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A multi-scale model of HIV-1 transmission
by
Lilit Yeghiazarian
Department of Biostatistics, UCLA
Coauthors: William G. Cumberland (UCLA)
Otto O. Yang (UCLA)
Interactions of HIV-1 with the immune system of the host have been extensively studied experimentally and theoretically using mathematical models. On the other end of the spectrum, epidemiological studies provided insight on HIV-1 dynamics within human populations. The importance of the topology of human social networks in disease epidemics became apparent as research on the underlying structure of a variety of technological networks such as the Internet progressed. We have developed a mathematical model that bridges the scales between in-host processes and HIV-1 transmission in human sexual networks. Each individual goes through a sequence of health states that reflect his/her HIV-1 status, treatment stage, and vital information. Associated with each health state is an in-host model describing the interactions between HIV-1 and the immune system. At the same time, each individual is modeled as a node in a sexual network within which the disease spreads as sexual encounters take place. We investigate the effect of a variety of medical care decisions such as timing and type of therapy, on the spread of disease within populations. We have found that early therapy initiation, namely during the acute infection phase, may substantially decrease the spread of disease.
Date received: May 12, 2008
Copyright © 2008 by the author(s). The author(s) of this document and the organizers of the conference have granted their consent to include this abstract in Atlas Conferences Inc. Document # cawd-82.