Stochastic modelling of chlamydial infections

Abstract

Chlamydia trachomatis is a bacterial pathogen that can cause serious reproductive harm. We describe a class of stochastic branching processes and their application in modelling the growth of an infection by Chlamydia. Using simulations we show that the model can reproduce biological phenomena of interest, and we show the variability in outcomes of infections under the same parameter conditions. We further speculate how this model might be used to explain long-term adverse reproductive sequelae.

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