Modeling the Effect of Education Based Intervention in the Control of Cholera

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Applied Science (IJRIAS) | Volume V, Issue XII, December 2020 | ISSN 2454–6186

Modeling the Effect of Education Based Intervention in the Control of Cholera

Anorue, Onyinyechi F.^1*, Modebei, Mark I.^2
1Department of Mathematics Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Abia State, Nigeria
²Mathematics Programme, National Mathematical Centre, Abuja, Nigeria
Corresponding Author*

ABSTRACT:- In this work, mathematical epidemiological model for the transmission dynamics of Cholera with control strategies is presented and analyzed. The model formulated is designed into compartments which lead to a system of differential equations for the transmission dynamics of Cholera with control measures of water treatment, sanitation and education based intervention being proposed. It was assumed that in the model, Cholera is contracted when an individual comes into contact with and ingestion of contaminated water, food and unhygienic environment. The stabilities of the model are investigated at several instances. The results showed that the disease free equilibrium is locally asymptotically stable under assumed conditions on the parameters given in the model. It was then concluded from the results that treatment of water, with good sanitation and well based education are effective methods of controlling and eradicating Cholera when kept consistent.

Keywords: cholera, equilibrium, control strategies, stability.

MSC 2010:

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Cholera is one of the most devastating infectious diseases in the world, infecting millions of people annually and is a major cause of mortality. It is an infectious disease that is a major concern in countries with inadequate access to clean water, proper sanitation and good health facilities. Cholera is an acute bacterial infection caused by Vibro-cholerae, non-invasive bacterium called Vibro or the “Comma bacillus “which lives in the small intestine [Ι]. It was discovered by Robert Knoch in 1883 during a Cholera outbreak in Egypt, which can be transmitted directly from human to human through unhygienic contact with Cholera patient’s faece, vomit or corpse and indirectly from environment to human through ingestion of Vibro cholera bacteria from contaminated water and food [2, 12, 13]. The bacteria can brew in someone’s system for up to twelve days before the person develops diarrhea, which can lead to dangerous dehydration. Most degeneration occur on the first day of illness and if not properly and immediately managed can lead to death [3].
Cholera has been a persistent epidemic and continues to be a global world health issue. Despite the studies on this disease for over one hundred years, it is estimated that approximately 120,000 people die from Cholera annually [4, 5, 6] and the dynamics of the disease indicate that it is intimately linked to serious inadequate access to clean water, improper treatment of human wastes and lack of access to essential health services.
Most cases of Cholera currently occur in developing countries. Currently, Cholera is endemic in India and Bangladesh near the Bay of Bengal as well as in coastal regions of South America [7]. Cases in these regions tend to have seasonal circles, generally associated with fluctuations in water temperature, zooplankton levels and monsoon cycles [8]. These epidemics tend to coincide with dry weather and higher water temperatures while cases are reduced in winter. In 2005, Nigeria had 4,477 cases and 174 deaths. There were reported cases of Cholera in 2008 in Nigeria in which there were 429 death cases out of 6,330 cases. 2,304 cases were reported in Niger State in which 114 were death cases [6]. Also in 2009, Nigeria reported 13,691 cases and 431 deaths [5, 7, 14]. Preventative measures include vaccination, drinking of clean water, and washing hands well- all of which is assumed that people have easy access to these resources but since most existing models exclude the use of education based intervention in passing down the aforementioned strategies in fighting against the propagation of infectious diseases, this work is aimed to better understand the effects of this measure so as to gain useful guidelines to the effective prevention and intervention strategies against Cholera epidemics.

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