Pneumococcal population dynamics: Investigating vaccine-induced changes through multiscale modelling.

ABSTRACT: The mechanisms behind vaccine-induced strain replacement in the pneumococcus remain poorly understood. There is emerging evidence that distinct pneumococcal lineages can co-colonise for significant time periods, and that novel recombinants can readily emerge during natural colonisation. Despite this, patterns of post-vaccine replacement are indicative of competition between specific lineages. Here, we develop a multiscale transmission model to investigate explicitly how within host dynamics shape observed ecological patterns, both pre- and post-vaccination. Our model framework explores competition between and within strains defined by distinct antigenic, metabolic and resistance profiles. We allow for strains to freely co-colonise and recombine within hosts, and consider how each of these

SUBMITTER: Mulberry N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10781023 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature