Modeling of inhaled viral transmission dynamics

The mechanics of airborne transmission of viruses constitutes a rapidly expanding field, primarily focused on expulsion patterns of respiratory particulates from infected hosts and their spatiotemporal dispersion. However, the critical role of fluid dynamics in directing inhaled virus-laden particulates through the respiratory cavity to infection-prone airway tissue sites has been largely overlooked. This talk will present a multi-scale approach to modeling the onset parameters of intra-airway viral infection, incorporating the underlying respiratory flow physics. The findings will utilize Large Eddy Simulations of inhaled airflow and computed trajectories of pathogen-bearing aerosols and droplets within anatomically realistic respiratory domains, supported by theoretical and experimental validation. Mechanistic results will be highlighted for two sample viruses that can transmit aerially, namely SARS-CoV-2 and Smallpox. Fluid dynamics insights into their inhaled transmission will be integrated with relevant biological and virological factors to assess key infection onset parameters, such as the infectious dose. The model's feasibility will be verified by comparing the physics-guided projections with established virological estimates from the literature.