Fig 4A illustrates the spatial spread of a robust viral infection. The effect of inhibiting IFN signaling (as done in the experiments) is represented in model (4) through a reduction of the anti-viral induction rate (γ). In agreement with experiments, in the spatial metapopulation model the down modulation of IFN signaling results in an increased proportion of the robust infection outcomes (Fig 4D). Here, IFNA1 is linked to infection.