Dengue disease, basic reproduction number and control

• Main Author: Monteiro, M. Teresa T.
• Publication Date: 2012
• Other Authors: Torres, Delfim F. M., Zinober, Alan, Rodrigues, Helena Sofia
• Format: Article
• Language: eng
• Source: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Download full: http://hdl.handle.net/1822/15161
• topic: Dengue; Basic reproduction number; Stability; Cape Verde; Control; Science & Technology

Dengue is one of the major international public health concerns.Although progress is underway, developing a vaccine against the disease is challenging. Thus, the main approach to fight the disease is vector control. A model for the transmission of dengue disease is presented. It consists of eight mutually exclusive compartments representing the human and vector dynamics. It also includes a control parameter (insecticide) in order to fight the mosquito. The model presents three possible equilibria: two disease-free equilibria (DFE) and another endemic equilibrium. It has been proved that a DFE is locally asymptotically stable, whenever a certain epidemiological threshold, known as the basic reproduction number, is less than one. We show that if we apply a minimum level of insecticide, it is possible to maintain the basic reproduction number below unity. A case study, using data of the outbreak that occurred in 2009 in Cape Verde, is presented.