scholarly journals Transmission dynamics and high infectiousness of Coronavirus Disease 2019

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
pp. 0
Author(s):  
Shunxiang Huang ◽  
Lin Wu ◽  
Jing Li ◽  
Ming-Zhen Xin ◽  
Yingying Wang ◽  
...  

<p style='text-indent:20px;'>Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has rapidly spread around the world since the early 2020. Recently, a second wave of COVID-19 has resurged in many countries. The transmission dynamics and infectiousness of the COVID-19 pandemic remain unclear, and developing strategies to mitigate the severity of the pandemic is a top priority for global public health. According to the infection mechanism of COVID-19, a novel susceptible-asymptomatic-symptomatic-recovered (SASR) model with control variables in a patchy environment was proposed not only to consider the key characteristics of asymptomatic infection and the effects of seasonal variation but also to incorporate different control measures for multiple transmission routes. The basic reproduction number <inline-formula><tex-math id="M1">\begin{document}$ R_{0} $\end{document}</tex-math></inline-formula> was established to describe the spreading behavior in the natural state over a long time horizon, and the natural reproduction number <inline-formula><tex-math id="M2">\begin{document}$ R_{n} $\end{document}</tex-math></inline-formula>, which describes the development trend of the disease during a short time in the future, was defined according to the actual propagation characteristics. In addition, the effective reproduction number <inline-formula><tex-math id="M3">\begin{document}$ R_{e} $\end{document}</tex-math></inline-formula> considering the control strategies was proposed to evaluate the impact of non-pharmaceutical interventions. The results of numerical simulations for COVID-19 cases in Wuhan, China, based on the SASR model indicate that <inline-formula><tex-math id="M4">\begin{document}$ R_{0} $\end{document}</tex-math></inline-formula> was 3.58, <inline-formula><tex-math id="M5">\begin{document}$ R_{n} $\end{document}</tex-math></inline-formula> ranged from 2.37 to 4.91, and <inline-formula><tex-math id="M6">\begin{document}$ R_{e} $\end{document}</tex-math></inline-formula> decreased gradually from 4.83 on December 8, 2019 to 0.31 on March 8, 2020, reaching 1.40 on January 23, 2020, when the lockdown was lifted in Wuhan. We further concluded that the total number of infections, including asymptomatic infections, was approximately 301, 804 as of March 8, 2020, in Wuhan, China. In particular, this article proposes a dynamic method to distinguish the impact of natural factors and human interventions on the development of the pandemic, and provides a theoretical basis for fighting the global COVID-19 pandemic.</p>

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Aristide G. Lambura ◽  
Gasper G. Mwanga ◽  
Livingstone Luboobi ◽  
Dmitry Kuznetsov

A deterministic mathematical model for the transmission and control of cointeraction of helminths and tuberculosis is presented, to examine the impact of helminth on tuberculosis and the effect of control strategies. The equilibrium point is established, and the effective reproduction number is computed. The disease-free equilibrium point is confirmed to be asymptotically stable whenever the effective reproduction number is less than the unit. The analysis of the effective reproduction number indicates that an increase in the helminth cases increases the tuberculosis cases, suggesting that the control of helminth infection has a positive impact on controlling the dynamics of tuberculosis. The possibility of bifurcation is investigated using the Center Manifold Theorem. Sensitivity analysis is performed to determine the effect of every parameter on the spread of the two diseases. The model is extended to incorporate control measures, and Pontryagin’s Maximum Principle is applied to derive the necessary conditions for optimal control. The optimal control problem is solved numerically by the iterative scheme by considering vaccination of infants for Mtb, treatment of individuals with active tuberculosis, mass drug administration with regular antihelminthic drugs, and sanitation control strategies. The results show that a combination of educational campaign, treatment of individuals with active tuberculosis, mass drug administration, and sanitation is the most effective strategy to control helminth-Mtb coinfection. Thus, to effectively control the helminth-Mtb coinfection, we suggest to public health stakeholders to apply intervention strategies that are aimed at controlling helminth infection and the combination of vaccination of infants and treatment of individuals with active tuberculosis.


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.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shunxiang Huang ◽  
Lin Wu ◽  
Li Xu ◽  
Aihong Zhang ◽  
Li Sheng ◽  
...  

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is spreading rapidly all over the world. The transmission dynamics of the COVID-19 pandemic is still unclear, but developing strategies for mitigating the severity of the pandemic is yet a top priority for global public health. In this study, we developed a novel compartmental model, SEIR-CV(susceptible-exposed-infectious-removed with control variables), which not only considers the key characteristics of asymptomatic infection and the effects of seasonal variations, but also incorporates different control measures for multiple transmission routes, so as to accurately predict and effectively control the spread of COVID-19. Based on SEIR-CV, we predicted the COVID-19 epidemic situation in China out of Hubei province and proposed corresponding control strategies. The results showed that the prediction results are highly consistent with the outbreak surveillance data, which proved that the proposed control strategies have achieved sound consequent in the actual epidemic control. Subsequently, we have conducted a rolling prediction for the United States, Brazil, India, five European countries (the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Germany, and France), southern hemisphere, northern hemisphere, and the world out of China. The results indicate that control measures and seasonal variations have a great impact on the progress of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our prediction results show that the COVID-19 pandemic is developing more rapidly due to the impact of the cold season in the southern hemisphere countries such as Brazil. While the development of the pandemic should have gradually weakened in the northern hemisphere countries with the arrival of the warm season, instead of still developing rapidly due to the relative loose control measures such as the United States and India. Furthermore, the prediction results illustrate that if keeping the current control measures in the main COVID-19 epidemic countries, the pandemic will not be contained and the situation may eventually turn to group immunization, which would lead to the extremely severe disaster of about 5 billion infections and 300 million deaths globally. However, if China's super stringent control measures were implemented from 15 July, 15 August or 15 September 2020, the total infections would be contained about 15 million, 32 million or 370 million respectively, which indicates that the stringent and timely control measures is critical, and the best window period is before September for eventually overcoming COVID-19.


Author(s):  
Nita H. Shah ◽  
Ankush H. Suthar ◽  
Ekta N. Jayswal

On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-Cov-2) a pandemic and a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. As of 29 March 2020, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has affected 199 countries and territories, resulting in 683,536 positive cases and causing 32,139 deaths. The pandemic has the potential to become extremely destructive globally if not treated seriously. In this study, we propose a generalized SEIR model of COVID-19 to study the behaviour of its transmission under different control strategies. In the model, all possible cases of human-to-human transmission are considered and its reproduction number is formulated to analyse the accurate transmission dynamics of the coronavirus outbreak. Optimal control theory is applied to the model to demonstrate the impact of various intervention strategies, including voluntary quarantine, isolation of infected individuals, improving an individual's immunity, and hospitalization. In addition, the effect of control strategies on the model is analysed graphically by simulating the model numerically.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weike Zhou ◽  
Aili Wang ◽  
Xia Wang ◽  
Robert A Cheke ◽  
Sanyi Tang

Abstract Background: The global outbreak of COVID-19 has caused worrying concern amongst the public and health authorities. The first and foremost problem that many countries face is a shortage of medical resources. The experience of Wuhan, China, in fighting against COVID-19 provides a model for other countries to learn from. Methods: We formulated a piecewise smooth model to describe the limitation of hospital beds, based on the transmission progression of COVID-19, and the strengthening prevention and control strategies implemented in Wuhan, China. We used data of the cumulative numbers of confirmed cases, cured cases and deaths in Wuhan city from 10 January to 20 March, 2020 to estimate unknown parameters and the effective reproduction number. Sensitivity analysis was conducted to investigate the impact of a shortage of hospital beds on the COVID-19 outbreak. Results: Even with strong prevention and control measures in Wuhan, slowing down of the supply rate, reducing the maximum capacity and delaying the intervention time of supplementing hospital beds aggravated the outbreak severity by magnifying the cumulative numbers of confirmed cases and deaths, prolonging the period of the outbreak in Wuhan, enlarging the value of the effective reproduction number during the outbreak and postponing the time when the threshold value is reduced to 1. Conclusions: The quick establishment of the Huoshenshan and Leishenshan Hospitals in a short time and the deployment of mobile cabin hospitals played important roles in containing the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan, providing a model for other countries to provide more hospital beds for COVID-19 patients faster and earlier.


Author(s):  
Nita H. Shah ◽  
Ankush H. Suthar ◽  
Ekta N. Jayswal

AbstractRecently the World Health Organization has declared the outbreak of a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-Cov-2) as a pandemic, and declared it as Public Health Emergency of International Concern. More than 683,536 positive cases and 32,139 deaths caused by novel corona virus 2019 (COVID-19) has affected 199 countries and territories. This pandemic can transform into an extremely destructive form if we still do not take it seriously. In the present study, we propose a generalized SEIR model of COVID-19 to study the behaviour of its transmission under different control strategies. In the model, all possible cases of human to human transmission are taken care and its reproduction number is formulated to analyse accurate transmission dynamics of the coronavirus outbreak. Optimal control theory is applied in the model to pretend the impact of various intervention strategies, including voluntary quarantine, isolation of infected individuals, improving an individual’s immunity and hospitalisation. Also, effect of the control strategies on model is analysed graphically by simulating the model numerically.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suttikiat Changruenngam ◽  
Charin Modchang ◽  
Dominique J. Bicout

Abstract Carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) has emerged as a major threat to global public health. Epidemiological and infection controls associated with CRKP are very challenging owing to several potential elements involved in a complicated cycle of transmission. Here, we proposed a comprehensive mathematical model to investigate the transmission dynamics of CRKP, determine factors affecting the prevalence, and evaluate the impact of interventions on the transmission. The model includes the essential compartments, which are uncolonized, asymptomatic colonized, symptomatic colonized, and relapsed patients. Moreover, the symptomatic colonized and relapsed patients are further classified into subpopulations according to their number of treatment failures or relapses. We found that the admission of colonized patients and the use of antibiotics have a significant influence on the endemic transmission. The proposed treatment efficacy, which is defined as a combination of the treatment duration and the probability of successful treatment, could also describe the effects of antibiotic treatment on the transmission. A high efficacy of the antibiotic treatment could significantly reduce the likelihood of readmission of a patient in the health care unit. In addition, our findings demonstrate that the CRKP transmission with different epidemiological characteristics needs to be controlled with distinct interventions.


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.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 1825 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Fernández-Recio

A previously developed mechanistic model of COVID-19 transmission has been adapted and applied here to study the evolution of the disease and the effect of intervention measures in some European countries and territories where the disease has had a major impact. A clear impact of the major intervention measures on the reproduction number (Rt) has been found in all studied countries and territories, as already suggested by the drop in the number of deaths over time. Interestingly, the impact of such major intervention measures seems to be the same in most of these countries. The model has also provided realistic estimates of the total number of infections, active cases and future outcomes. While the predictive capabilities of the model are much more uncertain before the peak of the outbreak, we could still reliably predict the evolution of the disease after a major intervention by assuming the subsequent reproduction number from the current study. A greater challenge is to foresee the long-term impact of softer intervention measures, but this model can estimate the outcome of different scenarios and help to plan changes for the implementation of control measures in a given country or region.


2008 ◽  
Vol 136 (11) ◽  
pp. 1496-1510 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. LANZAS ◽  
S. BRIEN ◽  
R. IVANEK ◽  
Y. LO ◽  
P. P. CHAPAGAIN ◽  
...  

SUMMARYThe objective of this study was to address the impact of heterogeneity of infectious period and contagiousness onSalmonellatransmission dynamics in dairy cattle populations. We developed three deterministic SIR-type models with two basic infected stages (clinically and subclinically infected). In addition, model 2 included long-term shedders, which were defined as individuals with low contagiousness but long infectious period, and model 3 included super-shedders (individuals with high contagiousness and long infectious period). The simulated dynamics, basic reproduction number (R0) and critical vaccination threshold were studied. Clinically infected individuals were the main force of infection transmission for models 1 and 2. Long-term shedders had a small impact on the transmission of the infection and on the estimated vaccination thresholds. The presence of super-shedders increasesR0and decreases the effectiveness of population-wise strategies to reduce infection, making necessary the application of strategies that target this specific group.


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