SARS-CoV-2 Dynamics in the Mucus Layer of the Human Upper Respiratory Tract Based on Host–Cell Dynamics

Hanyu Li, Kazuki Kuga and Kazuhide Ito
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Hanyu Li: Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Engineering Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 816-8580, Japan
Kazuki Kuga: Faculty of Engineering Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 816-8580, Japan
Kazuhide Ito: Faculty of Engineering Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 816-8580, Japan

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 7, 1-18

Abstract: A thorough understanding of the inhalation dynamics of infectious aerosols indoors and infection dynamics within the host by inhaled viruses such as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) plays an important role in the assessment and control of infection risks indoors. Here, by combining computational fluid–particle dynamics (CFPD) and host–cell dynamics (HCD), SARS-CoV-2 infection dynamics in the mucus layer of the human upper airway were studied. To reproduce the diffusive and convective transport of the virus in the nasal cavity–nasopharynx by mucociliary motion, a three-dimensional (3D)-shell model with a mucus layer was developed. The initial virus concentrations for HCD calculation were estimated based on the deposition distribution of droplets with representative sizes analyzed by CFPD. To develop a new HCD model, the target-cell-limited model was integrated with the convection–diffusion equation. Additionally, the sensitivity of the infection rate β to the infection dynamics was systematically investigated. The results showed that the time series of SARS-CoV-2 concentration in the mucus layer strongly depended on diffusion, convection, and β. Although the SARS-CoV-2 dynamics obtained here have not been verified by corresponding clinical data, they can preliminarily reveal its transmission mode in the upper airway, which will contribute to the prevention and treatment of coronavirus disease 2019.

Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; computational fluid and particle dynamics; host–cell dynamics; mucus layer; mucociliary motion; upper respiratory tract (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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