Infection Dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 in Mucus Layer of the Human Nasal Cavity - Nasopharynx

Hanyu Li, Kazuki Kuga, Kazuhide Ito

Research output: Contribution to journalConference articlepeer-review

Abstract

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has led to the worldwide spread of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) since its emergence in 2019. Virus replication and infection dynamics after its deposition on the respiratory tissues require detailed studies for infection control. This study focused primarily on SARS-CoV-2 dynamics in the mucus layer of the nasal cavity and nasopharynx, based on coupled computational fluid-particle dynamics (CFPD) and host-cell dynamics (HCD) analyses. Considering the mucus milieu, we coupled the target-cell limited model with the convection-diffusion term to develop an improved HCD model. The infection dynamics in the mucus layer were predicted by a combination of the mucus flow field, droplet deposition distribution, and HCD. The effect of infection rate, β, was investigated as the main parameter of HCD. The results showed that the time series of SARS-CoV-2 concentration distribution in the mucus layer strongly depended on diffusion, convection, and virus production. β affected the viral load peak, its arrival time, and duration. Although the SARS-CoV-2 dynamics in the mucus layer obtained in this study have not been verified by appropriate clinical data, it can serve as a preliminary study on the virus transmission mode in the upper respiratory tract.

Original languageEnglish
Article number05021
JournalE3S Web of Conferences
Volume356
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Aug 31 2022
Event16th ROOMVENT Conference, ROOMVENT 2022 - Xi'an, China
Duration: Sept 16 2022Sept 19 2022

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Environmental Science(all)
  • Energy(all)
  • Earth and Planetary Sciences(all)

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