Interspecies Infection
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WHAT IS IT?
NOTE: The following is from the "Virus" model and does not reflect all of the changes in the "Interspecies Infection" model
.
This model simulates the transmission and perpetuation of a virus in a human population. Ecological biologists have suggested a number of factors which may influence the survival of a directly transmitted virus within a population. (Yorke, et al. "Seasonality and the requirements for perpetuation and eradication of viruses in populations." Journal of Epidemiology, volume 109, pages 103-123)
The model is initialized with 150 people, of which 10 are infected. People move randomly about the world in one of three states: healthy but susceptible to infection (green), sick and infectious (red), and healthy and immune (gray). People may die of infection or old age. When the population dips below the environment's "carrying capacity" (set at 700 in this model) healthy people may reproduce healthy and susceptible offspring.
Some of these factors are summarized below with an explanation of how each one is treated in this model.
The density of the population
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Population density affects how often infected, immune and susceptible individuals come into contact with each other. You can change the size of the initial population through the PEOPLE slider.
Population turnover
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As individuals die, some who die will be infected, some will be susceptible and some will be immune. All the new individuals who are born, replacing those who die, will be susceptible. People may die from the virus, the chances of which are determined by the slider CHANCE-RECOVER, or they may die of old age. In this model, people die of old age at the age of approximately 27 years. Reproduction rate is constant in this model. Each turn, every healthy individual has a chance to reproduce. That chance is set so that each person will on average reproduce four times if they live 27 years.
Degree of immunity
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If a person has been infected and recovered, how immune are they to the virus? We often assume that immunity lasts a lifetime and is assured, but in some cases immunity wears off in time and immunity might not be absolutely secure. Nonetheless, in this model, immunity does last forever and is secure.
Infectiousness (or transmissibility)
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How easily does the virus spread? Some viruses with which we are familiar spread very easily. Some viruses spread from the smallest contact every time. Others (the HIV virus, which is responsible for AIDS, for example) require significant contact, perhaps many times, before the virus is transmitted. In this model, infectiousness is determined by a slider.
Duration of infectiousness
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How long is a person infected before they either recover or die? This length of time is essentially the virus's window of opportunity for transmission to new hosts. In this model, duration of infectiousness is determined by a slider.
HOW TO USE IT
Each "tick" represents a week in the time scale of this model.
The INFECTIOUSNESS slider determines how great the chance is that virus transmission will occur when an infected person and susceptible person occupy the same patch. For instance, when the slider is set to 50, the virus will spread roughly once every two chance encounters.
The DURATION slider determines the percent of the average life-span (which is 1500 weeks, or approximately 27 years, in this model) that an infected person goes through before the infection ends in either death or recovery. Note that although zero is a slider possibility, it produces an infection of very short duration (approximately 2 weeks) not an infection with no duration at all.
The CHANCE-RECOVERY slider controls the likelihood that an infection will end in recovery/immunity. When this slider is set at zero, for instance, the infection is always deadly.
The SETUP button resets the graphics and plots and randomly distributes 140 green susceptible people and 10 red infected people (of randomly distributed ages). The GO button starts the simulation and the plotting function.
Three output monitors show the percent of the population that is infected, the percent that is immune, and the number of years that have passed. The plot shows (in their respective colors) the number of susceptible, infected, and immune people. It also shows the number of individuals in the total population in blue.
THINGS TO NOTICE
The factors controlled by the three sliders interact to influence how likely the virus is to thrive in this population. Notice that in all cases, these factors must create a balance in which an adequate number of potential hosts remain available to the virus and in which the virus can adequately access those hosts.
Often there will initially be an explosion of infection since no one in the population is immune and the population density is at its maximum. This approximates the initial "outbreak" of a viral infection in a population, one that often has devastating consequences for the humans concerned. Soon, however, the virus becomes less common as the population dynamics change. What ultimately happens to the virus is determined by the factors controlled the sliders.
Notice that viruses that are too successful at first (infecting almost everyone) may not survive in the long term. Since everyone infected generally dies or becomes immune as a result, the potential number of hosts is often limited. The exception to the above is when the DURATION slider is set so high that population turnover (reproduction) can keep up and provide new hosts.
THINGS TO TRY
Think about how different slider values might approximate the dynamics of real-life viruses. The famous Ebola virus in central Africa has a very short duration, a very high infectiousness value, and an extremely low recovery rate. For all the fear this virus has raised, how successful is it? Set the sliders appropriately and watch what happens.
The HIV virus which causes AIDS, has an extremely long duration, an extremely low recovery rate, but an extremely low infectiousness value. How does a virus with these slider values fare in this model?
EXTENDING THE MODEL
Add additional sliders controlling the carrying capacity of the world (how many people can be in the world at one time) and the average lifespan of the people.
Build a similar model simulating viral infection of a non-human host with very different reproductive rates, lifespans, and population densities.
Add a slider controlling how long immunity lasts so that immunity is not perfect or eternal.
CREDITS AND REFERENCES
To refer to this model in academic publications, please use: Wilensky, U. (1998). NetLogo Virus model. http://ccl.northwestern.edu/netlogo/models/Virus. Center for Connected Learning and Computer-Based Modeling, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL.
In other publications, please use: Copyright 1998 Uri Wilensky. All rights reserved. See http://ccl.northwestern.edu/netlogo/models/Virus for terms of use.
Comments and Questions
breed [pigs pig] breed [people person] turtles-own [ sick? ;; if true, the turtle is infectious immune? ;; if true, the turtle can't be infected sick-count ;; how long the turtle has been infectious age ] ;; how many weeks old the turtle is globals [ %peopleinfected ;; what % of the people are infectious %peopleimmune ;; what % of the people are immune %peoplehealthy ;; what % of the people are healthy %piginfected ;; what % of the pigs are infectious %pigimmune ;; what % of the pigs are immune %pighealthy ;; what % of the pigs are healthy lifespan ;; the average lifespan of a turtle average-offspring ;; the average number of offspring a turtle could have pig-carrying-capacity ;; the number of pigs that can be in the world at one time people-carrying-capacity ;; the number of people that can be in the world at one time home-patches ;; patches people inhabit pen-patches ;; patches pigs inhabit border ;; border around the world, to prevent wrap infections ] ;; The setup is divided into three subroutines to setup clear-all setup-constants setup-pen setup-breeds end to setup-pen ;; create the 'pen' for pigs if pigpen-size = "small" [set pen-patches patches with [pxcor > 5 and pycor > 5] ask pen-patches [set pcolor brown]] if pigpen-size = "medium" [set pen-patches patches with [pxcor > 1 and pycor > 1] ask pen-patches [ set pcolor brown ]] if pigpen-size = "large" [set pen-patches patches with [pxcor > 1 ] ask pen-patches [set pcolor brown ]] ;; create the 'homes'for people if pigpen-size = "small" [set home-patches patches with [pycor < 5 or (pxcor < 5 and pycor >= 5)] ask home-patches [ set pcolor 51 ]] if pigpen-size = "medium" [set home-patches patches with [pycor < 1 or (pxcor < 1 and pycor >= 1)] ask home-patches [ set pcolor 51 ]] if pigpen-size = "large" [set home-patches patches with [pxcor < 1] ask home-patches [ set pcolor 51 ]] ;; create border set border (round max-pycor) ask patches with [ ((abs pxcor = border) and (abs pycor <= border)) or ((abs pycor = border) and (abs pxcor <= border)) ] [ set pcolor black ] end ;; We create a variable number of pigs and people and distribute them randomly. 10% of pigs are infectious. to setup-breeds set-default-shape pigs "pig" create-pigs number-of-pigs [ set color pink move-to one-of pen-patches with [pcolor = brown] set age random lifespan set sick-count 0 set immune? false set size 2 ;; easier to see get-healthy ] ask n-of (number-of-pigs / 10) pigs [get-sick ] set-default-shape people "person" create-people number-of-people [ set color green move-to one-of home-patches with [pcolor = 51] set age random lifespan set sick-count 0 set immune? false set size 2 ;; easier to see get-healthy ] end to get-sick ;; turtle procedure set sick? true set immune? false set color red end to get-healthy ;; turtle procedure set sick? false set immune? false set sick-count 0 end to become-immune ;; turtle procedure set sick? false set sick-count 0 set immune? true set color blue end to setup-constants set lifespan 100 set pig-carrying-capacity 200 set people-carrying-capacity 200 set average-offspring 2 end to go get-older move-pigs move-people infect-pigs infect-people recover reproduce update-global-variables tick update-plot-people update-plot-pigs end to update-global-variables if count pigs > 0 [ set %piginfected (count pigs with [sick?]) / (count pigs) * 100 set %pigimmune (count pigs with [immune?]) / (count pigs) * 100 set %pighealthy (count pigs with [not sick? and not immune?]) / (count pigs) * 100 ] if count people > 0 [ set %peopleinfected (count people with [sick?]) / (count people) * 100 set %peopleimmune (count people with [immune?]) / (count people) * 100 set %peoplehealthy (count people with [not sick? and not immune?]) / (count people) * 100 ] end ;;Turtle counting variables are advanced. to get-older ask pigs [ set age age + 1 if sick? [ set sick-count (sick-count + 1) ] ;; Turtles die of old age once their age equals the ;; lifespan (set at 1500 in this model). if age > lifespan [ die ] ] ask people [ set age age + 1 if sick? [ set sick-count (sick-count + 1) ] ;; Turtles die of old age once their age equals the ;; lifespan (set at 1500 in this model). if age > lifespan [ die ] ] end ;;Turtles move about at random, but within their environment (pigs in the pen, people in the "home" patches). to move-pigs ask pigs [ifelse patch-ahead 1 = nobody [rt 180 fd 1] [ifelse [pcolor] of patch-ahead 1 = 51 [rt 180 fd 2] [rt random 100 lt random 100 fd .5]]] end to move-people ask people [ifelse patch-ahead 1 = nobody [rt 180 fd 2] [ifelse [pcolor] of patch-ahead 1 = brown [rt 180 fd 3] [rt random 100 lt random 100 fd 1]]] end ;; If a turtle is sick, it infects other turtles on the same patch, with different rates for within and between breeds. ;; Immune turtles don't get sick. to infect-pigs ask pigs with [sick?] [ ask other pigs-here with [ not immune? ] [ if (random-float 100) < within-pig-infectiousness [ get-sick ] ]] ask pigs with [sick?] [ ask people-here with [ not immune? ] [ if (random-float 100) < between-species-infectiousness [get-sick]]] end to infect-people ask people with [sick?] [ ask other people-here with [ not immune? ] [ if (random-float 100) < within-people-infectiousness [ get-sick ] ] ask pigs-here with [ not immune? ] [ if (random-float 100) < between-species-infectiousness [ get-sick ] ]] end ;; Once the turtle has been sick long enough, it ;; either recovers (and becomes immune) or it dies. to recover ask pigs with [sick?] [ if (random sick-count) > (lifespan * (duration-pigvirus / 100)) ;; If the turtle has survived past the virus' duration, then [ ifelse ((random-float 100) < chance-recover-pigs) ;; either recover or die [ become-immune ] [ die ] ] ] ask people with [sick?] [ if (random sick-count) > (lifespan * (duration-peoplevirus / 100)) ;; If the turtle has survived past the virus' duration, then [ ifelse ((random-float 100) < chance-recover-people) ;; either recover or die [ become-immune ] [ die ] ] ] end ;; If there are less turtles than the carrying-capacity ;; then turtles can reproduce. ;; The probability of reproduction depends on average number ;; of offspring per life. In this model it is 2 per life (e.g. ;; 2 per 100 weeks. The chance, therefore, for a turtle to ;; reproduce at any given turn is 0.02 (if the population ;; is below carrying-capacity). to reproduce ask pigs with [not sick?] [ if (count pigs) < pig-carrying-capacity and (random lifespan) < average-offspring [ hatch-pigs 1 [ set age 1 rt random 360 fd 1 ] get-healthy]] ask people with [not sick?] [ if (count people) < people-carrying-capacity and (random lifespan) < average-offspring [ hatch-people 1 [ set age 1 rt random 360 fd 1 ] get-healthy ]] end to update-plot-people set-current-plot "Populations-People" set-current-plot-pen "sick" plot count people with [sick?] set-current-plot-pen "healthy" plot count people with [not sick? and not immune?] set-current-plot-pen "immune" plot count people with [immune?] set-current-plot-pen "total" plot count people end to update-plot-pigs set-current-plot "Populations-Pigs" set-current-plot-pen "sick" plot count pigs with [sick?] set-current-plot-pen "healthy" plot count pigs with [not sick? and not immune?] set-current-plot-pen "immune" plot count pigs with [immune?] set-current-plot-pen "total" plot count pigs end ; *** NetLogo 4.1beta3 Model Copyright Notice *** ; ; This model was created as part of the project: CONNECTED MATHEMATICS: ; MAKING SENSE OF COMPLEX PHENOMENA THROUGH BUILDING OBJECT-BASED PARALLEL ; MODELS (OBPML). The project gratefully acknowledges the support of the ; National Science Foundation (Applications of Advanced Technologies ; Program) -- grant numbers RED #9552950 and REC #9632612. ; ; Copyright 1998 by Uri Wilensky. All rights reserved. ; ; Permission to use, modify or redistribute this model is hereby granted, ; provided that both of the following requirements are followed: ; a) this copyright notice is included. ; b) this model will not be redistributed for profit without permission ; from Uri Wilensky. ; Contact Uri Wilensky for appropriate licenses for redistribution for ; profit. ; ; This model was converted to NetLogo as part of the projects: ; PARTICIPATORY SIMULATIONS: NETWORK-BASED DESIGN FOR SYSTEMS LEARNING ; IN CLASSROOMS and/or INTEGRATED SIMULATION AND MODELING ENVIRONMENT. ; The project gratefully acknowledges the support of the ; National Science Foundation (REPP & ROLE programs) -- ; grant numbers REC #9814682 and REC-0126227. ; Converted from StarLogoT to NetLogo, 2001. ; ; To refer to this model in academic publications, please use: ; Wilensky, U. (1998). NetLogo Virus model. ; http://ccl.northwestern.edu/netlogo/models/Virus. ; Center for Connected Learning and Computer-Based Modeling, ; Northwestern University, Evanston, IL. ; ; In other publications, please use: ; Copyright 1998 Uri Wilensky. All rights reserved. ; See http://ccl.northwestern.edu/netlogo/models/Virus ; for terms of use. ; ; *** End of NetLogo 4.1beta3 Model Copyright Notice ***
There is only one version of this model, created almost 14 years ago by Pryce Davis.
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