Epidemiological consequences of enduring strain-specific immunity requiring repeated episodes of infection

RH Chisholm; N Sonenberg; JA Lacey; MI McDonald; M Pandey; MR Davies; SYC Tong; J McVernon; N Geard

Journal article

Epidemiological consequences of enduring strain-specific immunity requiring repeated episodes of infection

RH Chisholm, N Sonenberg, JA Lacey, MI McDonald, M Pandey, MR Davies, SYC Tong, J McVernon, N Geard

Plos Computational Biology | PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE | Published : 2020

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1007182

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Abstract

Group A Streptococcus (GAS) skin infections are caused by a diverse array of strain types and are highly prevalent in disadvantaged populations. The role of strain-specific immunity in preventing GAS infections is poorly understood, representing a critical knowledge gap in vaccine development. A recent GAS murine challenge study showed evidence that sterilising strain-specific and enduring immunity required two skin infections by the same GAS strain within three weeks. This mechanism of developing enduring immunity may be a significant impediment to the accumulation of immunity in populations. We used an agent-based mathematical model of GAS transmission to investigate the epidemiological co..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

Rebecca Chisholm Author

Jake Lacey Author

Mark Davies Author

Steven Tong Author

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Grants

Awarded by National Health and Medical Research Council

Funding Acknowledgements

This work was supported in part by a University of Melbourne Early Career Researcher Grant to RHC, NHMRC project grants (APP1098319 and APP1130455), and NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence (APP1058804). SYCT is supported by an NHMRC Career Development Fellowship (CDF1145033). JM is supported by an NHMRC Principal Research Fellowship (PRF1117140). MRD is supported by a University of Melbourne C.R. Roper Fellowship. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.