title: Mathematical models for hantavirus infection in rodents.
abstract: Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome is an emerging disease of humans that is carried by wild rodents. Humans are usually exposed to the virus through geographically isolated outbreaks. The driving forces behind these outbreaks is poorly understood. Certainly, one key driver of the emergence of these viruses is the virus population dynamics within the rodent population. Two new mathematical models for hantavirus infection in rodents are formulated and studied. The new models include the dynamics of susceptible, exposed, infective, and recovered male and female rodents. The first model is a system of ordinary differential equations while the second model is a system of stochastic differential equations. These new models capture some of the realistic dynamics of the male/female rodent hantavirus interaction: higher seroprevalence in males and variability in seroprevalence levels.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas 79409-1042, United States of America. linda.j.allen@ttu.edu
authors.forename: Linda J S
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Allen
authors.forename: Robert K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: McCormack
authors.forename: Colleen B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Jonsson
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D006476:Orthohantavirus / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification; D018778:Hantavirus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D008954:Models, Biological; D011157:Population Dynamics; D012377:Rodentia / Q000821:virology*; D012737:Sex Factors; D013269:Stochastic Processes