Will SARS-CoV-2 Become Just Another Seasonal Coronavirus?
The future prevalence and virulence of SARS-CoV-2 is uncertain. Some emerging pathogens become avirulent as populations approach herd immunity. Although not all viruses follow this path, the fact that the seasonal coronaviruses are benign gives some hope. We develop a general mathematical model to p...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-05-01
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| Series: | Viruses |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/13/5/854 |
| _version_ | 1797535047498072064 |
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| author | Alexander B. Beams Rebecca Bateman Frederick R. Adler |
| author_facet | Alexander B. Beams Rebecca Bateman Frederick R. Adler |
| author_sort | Alexander B. Beams |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The future prevalence and virulence of SARS-CoV-2 is uncertain. Some emerging pathogens become avirulent as populations approach herd immunity. Although not all viruses follow this path, the fact that the seasonal coronaviruses are benign gives some hope. We develop a general mathematical model to predict when the interplay among three factors, correlation of severity in consecutive infections, population heterogeneity in susceptibility due to age, and reduced severity due to partial immunity, will promote avirulence as SARS-CoV-2 becomes endemic. Each of these components has the potential to limit severe, high-shedding cases over time under the right circumstances, but in combination they can rapidly reduce the frequency of more severe and infectious manifestation of disease over a wide range of conditions. As more reinfections are captured in data over the next several years, these models will help to test if COVID-19 severity is beginning to attenuate in the ways our model predicts, and to predict the disease. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T11:39:03Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-fb5ed1719ad844979503167fad984e3d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1999-4915 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T11:39:03Z |
| publishDate | 2021-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Viruses |
| spelling | doaj.art-fb5ed1719ad844979503167fad984e3d2023-11-21T18:42:40ZengMDPI AGViruses1999-49152021-05-0113585410.3390/v13050854Will SARS-CoV-2 Become Just Another Seasonal Coronavirus?Alexander B. Beams0Rebecca Bateman1Frederick R. Adler2Department of Mathematics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USAUniversity of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USADivision of Epidemiology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84108, USAThe future prevalence and virulence of SARS-CoV-2 is uncertain. Some emerging pathogens become avirulent as populations approach herd immunity. Although not all viruses follow this path, the fact that the seasonal coronaviruses are benign gives some hope. We develop a general mathematical model to predict when the interplay among three factors, correlation of severity in consecutive infections, population heterogeneity in susceptibility due to age, and reduced severity due to partial immunity, will promote avirulence as SARS-CoV-2 becomes endemic. Each of these components has the potential to limit severe, high-shedding cases over time under the right circumstances, but in combination they can rapidly reduce the frequency of more severe and infectious manifestation of disease over a wide range of conditions. As more reinfections are captured in data over the next several years, these models will help to test if COVID-19 severity is beginning to attenuate in the ways our model predicts, and to predict the disease.https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/13/5/854SARS-CoV-2mathematical modelordinary differential equationsSIR model |
| spellingShingle | Alexander B. Beams Rebecca Bateman Frederick R. Adler Will SARS-CoV-2 Become Just Another Seasonal Coronavirus? Viruses SARS-CoV-2 mathematical model ordinary differential equations SIR model |
| title | Will SARS-CoV-2 Become Just Another Seasonal Coronavirus? |
| title_full | Will SARS-CoV-2 Become Just Another Seasonal Coronavirus? |
| title_fullStr | Will SARS-CoV-2 Become Just Another Seasonal Coronavirus? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Will SARS-CoV-2 Become Just Another Seasonal Coronavirus? |
| title_short | Will SARS-CoV-2 Become Just Another Seasonal Coronavirus? |
| title_sort | will sars cov 2 become just another seasonal coronavirus |
| topic | SARS-CoV-2 mathematical model ordinary differential equations SIR model |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/13/5/854 |
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