Optimizing the control of lymphatic filariasis: a mathematical modelling and cost-effectiveness analysis
摘要
Lymphatic filariasis is a disease linked to poverty and caused by a parasitic worm. It is prevalent in tropical regions, affecting approximately 1.4 billion people worldwide. This study develops a mathematical model that employs four different control measures: public education campaigns, preventive methods using insecticide-treated bed nets and indoor residual spraying, screening of asymptomatically infected individuals, and efforts to reduce the susceptible human population to create a protected community. The effectiveness and costs of these methods are assessed using Pontryagin’s Maximum Principle, efficiency analysis, and the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio, all of which are framed within a set of nonlinear equations. The analysis also evaluates the stability of the solutions and the control reproduction number to determine the effectiveness of the strategies. A forward bifurcation is proved to exist in the absence of the disease, indicating that the disease will be eliminated when