Optimal strategies for control of cholera in the presence of hyper-infective individuals
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Date
2023-09
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Elsevier
Abstract
primary site of infection being the small intestine. The disease typically spreads through contaminated water
and food and becomes more pronounced in areas with poor sanitation and inadequate access to clean drinking
water. Cholera infection can lead to severe diarrhoea, dehydration, and death if left untreated. Individuals with
low personal hygiene have higher chances of spreading and/or contracting the disease. This study aims to
propound a non-linear deterministic model to study the dynamics of cholera in the presence of two groups of
individuals based on their level of personal hygiene. We categorize these individuals into low-risk and high-risk
to describe individuals with good personal hygiene and those with very low personal hygiene, respectively. The
model is shown to have two mutually exclusive fixed points, namely, the cholera-free and the cholera-persistent
equilibria, indicating the presence of forward bifurcation. It is shown that restriction of the basic reproduction
number below unity guarantees local asymptotic stability of the cholera-free fixed point. The immigration rate,
rate of disinfection, bacteria ingestion rate, and bacterial shedding rate are parameters with a higher impact
on cholera spread. Optimal control analysis is also used to determine the most cost-effective combination of
infection control, adherence to sanitation protocols, treatment control, and bacterial-shedding controls needed
to control the spread of cholera.
Description
This article is published by Elsevier 2023 and is also available at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rinp.2023.106968
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Citation
Results in Physics 53 (2023) 106968