Antigenic escape is accelerated by the presence of immunocompromised hosts

Abstract

The repeated emergence of SARS-CoV-2 escape mutants from host immunity has obstructed the containment of the current pandemic and poses a serious threat to humanity. Prolonged infection in immunocompromised patients has received increasing attention as a driver of immune escape, and accumulating evidence suggests that viral genomic diversity and emergence of immune-escape mutants are promoted in immunocompromised patients. However, because immunocompromised patients comprise a small proportion of the host population, whether they have a significant impact on antigenic evolution at the population level is unknown. We consider an evolutionary epidemiological model that combines antigenic evolution and epidemiological dynamics. Applying this model to a heterogeneous host population, we study the impact of immunocompromised hosts on the evolutionary dynamics of pathogen antigenic escape from host immunity. We derived analytical formulae of the speed of antigenic evolution in heterogeneous host populations and found that even a small number of immunocompromised hosts in the population significantly accelerates antigenic evolution. Our results demonstrate that immunocompromised hosts play a key role in viral adaptation at the population level and emphasize the importance of critical care and surveillance of immunocompromised hosts.