scholarly journals Can medication mitigate the need for a strict lock down?: A mathematical study of control strategies for COVID-19 infection

Author(s):  
Mohsin Ali ◽  
Mudassar Imran ◽  
Adnan Khan

AbstractWe formulate a deterministic epidemic model to study the effects of medication on the transmission dynamics of Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19). We are especially interested in how the availability of medication could change the necessary quarantine measures for effective control of the disease. We model the transmission by extending the SEIR model to include asymptomatic, quarantined, isolated and medicated population compartments. We calculate the basic reproduction number R0 and show that for R0 < 1 the disease dies out and for R0 > 1 the disease is endemic. Using sensitivity analysis we establish that R0 is most sensitive to the rates of quarantine and medication. We also study how the effectiveness and the rate of medication along with the quarantine rate affect R0. We devise optimal quarantine, medication and isolation strategies, noting that availability of medication reduces the duration and severity of the lock-down needed for effective disease control. Our study also reinforces the idea that with the availability of medication, while the severity of the lock downs can be eased over time some social distancing protocols need to be observed, at least till a vaccine is found. We also analyze the COVID-109 outbreak data for four different countries, in two of these, India and Pakistan the curve is still rising, and in he other two, Italy and Spain, the epidemic curve is now falling due to effective quarantine measures. We provide estimates of R0 and the proportion of asymptomatic individuals in the population for these countries.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohsin Ali ◽  
Mudassar Imran ◽  
Adnan Khan

Abstract BackgroundCOVID-19 is a pandemic that has swept across the world in 2020. To date the only effective control mechanisms were non-pharmaceutical interventions, however there have been encouraging reports regarding possible medication in the literature, with emergency approval given to some drugs in various countries.MethodsWe formulate a deterministic epidemic model to study the effects of medication on the transmission dynamics of Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19). We are especially interested in how the availability of medication could change the necessary quarantine measures for effective control of the disease. We model the transmission by extending the SEIR model to include asymptomatic, quarantined, isolated and medicated population compartments.ResultsWe calculate the basic reproduction number R0 and show that for R0<1 the disease dies out and for R0>1 the disease is endemic. Using sensitivity analysis we establish that R0 is most sensitive to the rates of quarantine and medication. We also study how the effectiveness and the rate of medication along with the quarantine rate affect R0. We devise optimal quarantine, medication and isolation strategies, noting that availability of medication reduces the duration and severity of the lock-down needed for effective disease control.ConclusionOur study also reinforces the idea that with the availability of medication, while the severity of the lock downs can be eased over time some social distancing protocols need to be observed, at least till a vaccine is found. We also analyze the COVID-19 outbreak data for four different countries, in two of these, India and Pakistan the curve is still rising, and in he other two, Italy and Spain, the epidemic curve is now falling due to effective quarantine measures. We provide estimates of R0 and the proportion of asymptomatic individuals in the population for these countries.


2012 ◽  
Vol 05 (04) ◽  
pp. 1250029 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. MUSHAYABASA ◽  
C. P. BHUNU

A deterministic model for evaluating the impact of voluntary testing and treatment on the transmission dynamics of tuberculosis is formulated and analyzed. The epidemiological threshold, known as the reproduction number is derived and qualitatively used to investigate the existence and stability of the associated equilibrium of the model system. The disease-free equilibrium is shown to be locally-asymptotically stable when the reproductive number is less than unity, and unstable if this threshold parameter exceeds unity. It is shown, using the Centre Manifold theory, that the model undergoes the phenomenon of backward bifurcation where the stable disease-free equilibrium co-exists with a stable endemic equilibrium when the associated reproduction number is less than unity. The analysis of the reproduction number suggests that voluntary tuberculosis testing and treatment may lead to effective control of tuberculosis. Furthermore, numerical simulations support the fact that an increase voluntary tuberculosis testing and treatment have a positive impact in controlling the spread of tuberculosis in the community.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. P. Bhunu ◽  
S. Mushayabasa

An epidemiological model for the spread of lymphatic filariasis, a mosquito-borne infection, is developed and analysed. The epidemic thresholds known as the reproduction number and equilibria for the model are determined and stabilities analysed. Results from the analysis of the reproduction number suggest that treatment will somehow contribute to a reduction in lymphatic filariasis cases, but what it does not show is the magnitude of the reduction, a part answered by the numerical simulations. Numerical simulations show that even when all lymphatic filariasis cases displaying elephantiasis symptoms are put on treatment it will not be able to eradicate the disease. This result suggests that effective control of lymphatic filariasis may lie in treatment for those displaying symptoms as well as chemoprophylaxis for the exposed.


Author(s):  
S. Bowong ◽  
A. Temgoua ◽  
Y. Malong ◽  
J. Mbang

AbstractThis paper deals with the mathematical analysis of a general class of epidemiological models with multiple infectious stages for the transmission dynamics of a communicable disease. We provide a theoretical study of the model. We derive the basic reproduction number $\mathcal R_0$ that determines the extinction and the persistence of the infection. We show that the disease-free equilibrium is globally asymptotically stable whenever $\mathcal R_0 \leq 1$, while when $\mathcal R_0 \gt 1$, the disease-free equilibrium is unstable and there exists a unique endemic equilibrium point which is globally asymptotically stable. A case study for tuberculosis (TB) is considered to numerically support the analytical results.


Author(s):  
Balvinder Singh Gill ◽  
Vivek Jason Jayaraj ◽  
Sarbhan Singh ◽  
Sumarni Mohd Ghazali ◽  
Yoon Ling Cheong ◽  
...  

Malaysia is currently facing an outbreak of COVID-19. We aim to present the first study in Malaysia to report the reproduction numbers and develop a mathematical model forecasting COVID-19 transmission by including isolation, quarantine, and movement control measures. We utilized a susceptible, exposed, infectious, and recovered (SEIR) model by incorporating isolation, quarantine, and movement control order (MCO) taken in Malaysia. The simulations were fitted into the Malaysian COVID-19 active case numbers, allowing approximation of parameters consisting of probability of transmission per contact (β), average number of contacts per day per case (ζ), and proportion of close-contact traced per day (q). The effective reproduction number (Rt) was also determined through this model. Our model calibration estimated that (β), (ζ), and (q) were 0.052, 25 persons, and 0.23, respectively. The (Rt) was estimated to be 1.68. MCO measures reduce the peak number of active COVID-19 cases by 99.1% and reduce (ζ) from 25 (pre-MCO) to 7 (during MCO). The flattening of the epidemic curve was also observed with the implementation of these control measures. We conclude that isolation, quarantine, and MCO measures are essential to break the transmission of COVID-19 in Malaysia.


2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (04) ◽  
pp. 1750057 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mudassar Imran ◽  
Adnan Khan ◽  
Ali R. Ansari ◽  
Syed Touqeer Hussain Shah

Ebola virus disease (EVD) has emerged as a rapidly spreading potentially fatal disease. Several studies have been performed recently to investigate the dynamics of EVD. In this paper, we study the transmission dynamics of EVD by formulating an SEIR-type transmission model that includes isolated individuals as well as dead individuals that are not yet buried. Dynamical systems analysis of the model is performed, and it is consequently shown that the disease-free steady state is globally asymptotically stable when the basic reproduction number, [Formula: see text] is less than unity. It is also shown that there exists a unique endemic equilibrium when [Formula: see text]. Using optimal control theory, we propose control strategies, which will help to eliminate the Ebola disease. We use data fitting on models, with and without isolation, to estimate the basic reproductive numbers for the 2014 outbreak of EVD in Liberia and Sierra Leone.


Author(s):  
Luis Rosero-Bixby ◽  
Tim Miller

The reproduction number R is a key indicator used to monitor the dynamics of Covid-19 and to assess the effects of infection control strategies that frequently have high social and economic costs. Despite having an analog in demography’s “net reproduction rate” that has been routinely computed for a century, demographers may not be familiar with the concept and measurement of R in the context of Covid-19. This article is intended to be a primer for understanding and estimating R in demography. We show that R can be estimated as a ratio between the numbers of new cases today divided by the weighted average of cases in previous days. We present two alternative derivations for these weights based on how risks have changed over time: constant vs. exponential decay. We then provide estimates of these weights, and demonstrate their use in calculating R to trace the course of the first pandemic year in 53 countries.


2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (03) ◽  
pp. 543-560 ◽  
Author(s):  
LIUYONG PANG ◽  
SANHONG LIU ◽  
XINAN ZHANG ◽  
TIANHAI TIAN ◽  
ZHONG ZHAO

In December 2019, a novel coronavirus, SARS-COV-2, was identified among patients in Wuhan, China. Two strict control measures, i.e., putting Wuhan on lockdown and taking strict quarantine rule, were carried out to contain the spread of COVID-19. Based on the different control measures, we divided the transmission process of COVID-19 into three stages. An SEIHR model was established to describe the transmission dynamics and was applied to fit the published data on the confirmed cases of Wuhan city from December 31, 2019 to March 25, 2020 to deduce the time when the first patient with COVID-19 appeared. The basic reproduction number was estimated in the first stage to demonstrate the number of secondary infectious cases generated by an average infectious case in the absence of policy intervention. The effective reproduction numbers in second and third stages were estimated to evaluate the effects of the two strict control measures. In addition, sensitivity analysis of the reproduction number according to model parameters was executed to demonstrate the effect of the control measures for containing the spread of COVID-19. Finally, the numerical calculation method was applied to investigate the influence of the different control measures on the spread of COVID-19. The results indicated that following the strict quarantine rule was very effective, and reducing the effective contact rates and improving the diagnosis rate were crucial in reducing the effective reproduction number, and taking control measures as soon as possible can effectively contain a larger outbreak of COVID-19. But a bigger challenge for us to contain the spread of COVID-19 was the transmission from the asymptomatic carriers, which required to raising the public awareness of self-protection and keeping a good physical protection.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Takasar Hussain ◽  
Muhammad Ozair ◽  
Kazeem Oare Okosun ◽  
Muhammad Ishfaq ◽  
Aziz Ullah Awan ◽  
...  

AbstractTransmission dynamics of swine influenza pandemic is analysed through a deterministic model. Qualitative analysis of the model includes global asymptotic stability of disease-free and endemic equilibria under a certain condition based on the reproduction number. Sensitivity analysis to ponder the effect of model parameters on the reproduction number is performed and control strategies are designed. It is also verified that the obtained numerical results are in good agreement with the analytical ones.


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