Modeling and Forecasting Cases of RSV Using Artificial Neural Networks

Abstract

In this paper, we study and present a mathematical modeling approach based on artificial neural networks to forecast the number of cases of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The number of RSV-positive cases in most of the countries around the world present a seasonal-type behavior. We constructed and developed several multilayer perceptron (MLP) models that intend to appropriately forecast the number of cases of RSV, based on previous history. We compared our mathematical modeling approach with a classical statistical technique for the time-series, and we concluded that our results are more accurate. The dataset collected during 2005 to 2010 consisting of 312 weeks belongs to Bogotá D.C., Colombia. The adjusted MLP network that we constructed has a fairly high forecast accuracy. Finally, based on these computations, we recommend training the selected MLP model using 70% of the historical data of RSV-positive cases for training and 20% for validation in order to obtain more accurate results. These results are useful and provide scientific information for health authorities of Colombia to design suitable public health policies related to RSV.