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An agent-based model to simulate co-infection with human papillomaviruses in a partially vaccinated partnership network

Un modèle individu-centré pour simuler la co-infection par les papillomavirus humains dans un réseau de contacts entre partenaires partiellement vaccinés

Abstract : Human papillomaviruses (HPV) are among the most common sexually transmitted infection and a necessary cause of cervical cancer. In the context of vaccination against a sub-group of genotypes, better understanding the role of biological interactions between HPV geno-types and social interactions between humans is essential to anticipate what the vaccine im-pact could be at the population level. Existing models that study interactions between geno-types are based on basic homogeneous assumptions about human-to-human transmission, whereas agent-based models that take into account the heterogeneity of human behavior and transmission do not consider possible interactions between genotypes. Here, we present a novel stochastic agent-based model formalizing the co-circulation on a human partnership network of multiple interacting genotypes, some of them being preventable by the vaccine (vaccine types) and others not. The model explicitly formalizes heterogeneity in sexual be-haviors and makes it possible to explore distinct genotypic interaction mechanisms during intra-host co-infections. Using model simulations, we investigate infection dynamics in the population after vaccine introduction depending on assumptions regarding vaccine coverage and vaccine and non-vaccine genotype interactions.