title: Dynamics of influenza A drift: the linear three-strain model.
abstract: We analyze an epidemiological model consisting of a linear chain of three cocirculating influenza A strains that provide hosts exposed to a given strain with partial immune cross-protection against other strains. In the extreme case where infection with the middle strain prevents further infections from the other two strains, we reduce the model to a six-dimensional kernel capable of showing self-sustaining oscillations at relatively high levels of cross-protection. Dimensional reduction has been accomplished by a transformation of variables that preserves the eigenvalue responsible for the transition from damped oscillations to limit cycle solutions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Washington College, Chestertown, MD 21620, USA. juan.lin@washcoll.edu
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Andreasen
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Levin
mesh_terms: D000940:Antigenic Variation / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D005787:Gene Frequency / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D009980:Influenza A virus / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology; D016014:Linear Models; D008954:Models, Biological; D017354:Point Mutation