Modeling survival of experimentally virus-infected laboratory animals--exploration of the survival diagram.
In a recent paper (Sühnel & Veckenstedt, 1989, J. theor. Biol. 137, 27) we have proposed a new method of plotting survival data from experimentally virus-infected laboratory animals; the survival diagram. In this diagram two experiments, for which the mean number of virions inoculated is kept fixed but other parameters may vary, are compared. The variations in two basic quantities of survival analysis are simultaneously displayed: the standard mean survival time and the relative mean challenge virus dose, which is via a dose-response relation interrelated with the fraction of animals dying. It is analyzed in which manner variations in the kinetic parameters and the critical virus level necessary to produce a particular effect influence the location of the points of comparison in the survival diagram. The analysis presented is a prerequisite for further applications of this diagram and of the underlying mathematical model.
Sühnel
J
J
Central Institute of Microbiology and Experimental Therapy, Academy of Sciences, Jena, G.D.R.
D000818:Animals; D000830:Animals, Laboratory / Q000382:microbiology*; D015233:Models, Statistical; D015996:Survival Rate; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000401:mortality*