Mathematical models for co-infection of diseases (that is, the simulta-neous infection of an individual by multiple diseases) are sorely lacking in the literature. Here we present a mathematical model for the co-infection of malaria and schistosomiasis. We derive reproduction numbers for malaria and schistosomiasis independently, then combine these to determine the effects of disease interactions. Sensitivity indices show that malaria infection may be associated with an increased rate of schistosomiasis infection. However, schistosomiasis infection is not asso-ciated with an increased rate of malaria infection. Therefore, whenever there is co-infection of malaria and schistosomiasis in the community, our model suggests that control measures for each disease should be administered concurrently for effective control.
CITATION STYLE
Okosun, K. O., & Smith, R. (2016). On the Co-infection of Malaria and Schistosomiasis. In Mathematical and Computational Approaches in Advancing Modern Science and Engineering (pp. 289–298). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-30379-6_27
Mendeley helps you to discover research relevant for your work.