Wei-En Lu, a junior from Grove City College, worked with Dr. Brian McKay and Dr. Andreas Handel to examine the relationship between incolum dose and disease outcome in influenza.
Abstract: The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between influenza inoculum dose and disease outcomes. A systematic review to identify and abstract data from all influenza challenge studies were conducted. Exponential and linear models were used to assess the impact of inoculum dose on disease outcomes. This study found that inoculum dose has a positive relationship on the proportion infected. However, there was a negative trend between inoculum dose and proportion of fever or systemic symptoms and between inoculum dose and the mean peak viral titers. There was also a rise of inoculum dose given to individuals and a decrease in the proportion of individuals with disease outcome over time. In conclusion, inoculum dose has a definite impact on disease outcomes.