Comparative dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 and enterovirus/rhinovirus outbreaks.

The public health measures implemented during the pandemic have dramatically changed the epidemiology of respiratory tract infections (RTI). While the number of infections caused by many common RTI such as influenza, have been dramatically reduced, some RTI, such as rhino- and enteroviral infections continued to co-circulate with SARS-CoV-2, often exceeding the burden of COVID-19. The factors responsible for transmission of some but not other respiratory pathogens are poorly understood but likely depend on both the pathogen's capacity for rapid dissemination and the host's ability to mount effective immune responses. A better understanding of these factors could help guide future guidelines for RTI prevention. Therefore, here I propose to characterize in detail the patterns of RTI pathogen transmission, and to study immune responses associated with the different RTI transmission patterns during the pandemic. These studies will be done in the communities of Canadian Hutterites, who live communally in relative isolation from urban centres, thus presenting a unique model to study the dynamics of natural infection spread and disease prevention. I am hopeful that this research will shed light on the dynamics of common RTI dissemination to facilitate a better understanding of disease spread within human populations.