Thermal Effects on SARS-CoV-2 Transmission in Peristaltic Blood Flow: Mathematical Modelling

SARS-CoV-2 is a novel viral species that has been identified as a highly infectious disease. Scientists have endeavored to collect essential information to characterize better the behaviour of this virus including droplet transmission and airborne effects. However, it is not clear thus far whether temperature can substantially alter the pandemic trajectory inside the physiological system. The present study aims to investigate how temperature may affect virus transmission in peristaltic blood vessels, and how virus density and diameter, and blood viscosity (i.e. viscosity of carrying fluids) will affect the transmission of the virus in the circulatory system. The modelling deployed assumes that coronavirus with a diameter of 120 and a density of 1 move in the direction of blood flow. The quantity of SARS-CoV-2 virions (entire virus particles) inside a microdroplet is calculated by considering the Kepler conjecture method, and the transmission percentage of viral load is also computed. It is observed that the microdroplet carries less amount of coronavirus particles, so an airborne particle infection is less harmful. Further, computational simulations using the proposed model reveal some interesting insights into how rapidly the SARS-CoV-2 virus propagates in the circulatory system and estimate the infection in blood vessels. From these results, it is found that the small virion ( ) rapidly settles inside the bloodstream and infects tissues; however, the duration of infection is short due to the low viscosity of the blood. Further, the closed packed structure of the virions is loosened in the blood vessel due to blood temperature.

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