A tuberculosis model: The case of ‘reasonable’ and ‘unreasonable’ infectives

Epidemics such as tuberculosis (TB), can be represented by a finite number of states and transition rules that govern the spread of the disease in each discrete time step. This paper uses a graph theoretic approach to investigate TB interactions in a community where infectives are categorized. A thr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physica A 2009-05, Vol.388 (10), p.1995-2000
Main Authors: Nyabadza, Farai, Mukwembi, Simon, Rodrigues, Bernardo Gabriel
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Contacts
Graph
States
Transition
Tuberculosis
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Summary:Epidemics such as tuberculosis (TB), can be represented by a finite number of states and transition rules that govern the spread of the disease in each discrete time step. This paper uses a graph theoretic approach to investigate TB interactions in a community where infectives are categorized. A threshold value, α = 1 − 1 n , for ‘reasonable’ infectives is proposed. The results show that an epidemic will not ensue as long as the threshold is surpassed. Simulations presented show that unreasonable infectives can amplify the epidemic.
ISSN:0378-4371
1873-2119
DOI:10.1016/j.physa.2009.01.039