Mathematical Modeling of Listeriosis Incorporating Effects of Awareness Programs

Abstract

Awareness programs by the media play a pivotal role in the control of infectious diseases. In this paper, we formulate, and analyse a mathematical model for listeriosis with incorporating aware individuals interacting with the infected individuals. The model has three equilibria; namely; the disease-free, the bacteria free, and the endemic equilibria. Local stability of the equilibria were established using the food contamination number Rf : Numerical simulations are carried out and the effects of various parameters on the model variables investigated. The results reveal that an increase in the efficacy of awareness programs, rate of implementation of awareness programs, and the rate at which unaware susceptible becomes awareness results in the reduction of listeriosis in the human population. The result have important implications on the control and management of listeriosis.

On the mathematical modelling and analysis of Listeriosis from contaminated food products

“…Mathematical models have been used to analyse the transmission dynamics of infectious diseases in the past. Several mathematical models and statistical methods have been used to study the spread of Listeriosis, see for instance [9][10][11][12][13]. The work by Buchanan et al [8] shows that the growth of Listeria monocytogens depends on the interaction of five variables namely pH, temperature, sodium nitrate, atmosphere, and sodium chloride.…”