A mathematical model of the innate immunological response to Brucella infection

Brucellosis is a highly contagious zoonotic disease caused by bacteria from the genus Brucella. It affects various animal species, with significant economic consequences for live-stock producers. The disease causes reproductive losses, such as abortions and reduced fertility, leading to decreased live-stock production. Additionally, infected animals may experience reduced milk production and weight gain, further impacting the economic viability of livestock operations. Furthermore, the potential for zoonotic transmission to humans poses risks to public health. In this study, we propose a new mathematical model that describes the innate immune response to brucellosis, focusing on the interactions between antigens and the innate immune system. The model is formulated as a system of five partial differential equations that represent healthy tissue, bacteria, cytokines, resting and mature antigen-presenting cells, and is solved using the finite difference method. To validate our model, we compare the initial numerical results with experimental data from the literature, achieving an absolute error of 0.0017.