Understanding the effects of vector-bias in the success of biolarvicides interventions for malaria prevention

Abstract

Malaria is a vector-borne disease that is spread by Anopheles mosquito and caused by Plasmodium parasites. This disease has become a massive threat in many developing countries from many years ago, especially in the African region. Although numerous intervention has been implemented, such as medical treatment, fumigation, biolarvicides, the disease still become a yearly problem in those countries. One of the reasons is the vector bias phenomenon that appears in malaria spread. Here in this article, we propose a mathematical model to understand how vector bias might affect the success of biolarvicides and fumigation intervention. A comprehensive analysis is conducted related to the existence and local stability of the equilibrium points, and the basic reproduction number (R0). We also show the existence of the transcritical bifurcation exists when R0 = 1 numerically. Our analysis indicated that whenever the vector bias increase, the success of biolarvicides and fumigation to control malaria will decrease. Some numerical analysis is given to show the dynamical evolution of the infected human and mosquito population.