| Abstract: |
| The transmission of cholera, a water- and food-borne intestinal infection, involves complex interactions among human hosts, pathogens, and the environment. This talk will address the epidemic dynamics of cholera in non-homogenous environments, with a focus on the spatial variation and bacterial hyperinfectivity, using partial differential equation models. In this work, we develop a new modeling framework to study the effect of bacterial hyperinfectivity on cholera epidemics in a spatially non-homogeneous environment. First, the global threshold dynamics is established based on the derived basic reproduction number. Secondly, the global attractivity of the unique endemic equilibrium is obtained in a special case. Thirdly, the dependence of the basic reproduction number on model parameters is investigated by using theoretical and numerical means. Our results indicate that the prevention and intervention strategies need to take into account the non-homogeneity of the environments in order to effectively control cholera while optimize the use of available resources. |
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