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Use Of Optimal Control Models To Predict Treatment Time For Managing Tick-Borne Disease, Holly D. Gaff, Elsa Schaefer, Suzanne Lenhart
Use Of Optimal Control Models To Predict Treatment Time For Managing Tick-Borne Disease, Holly D. Gaff, Elsa Schaefer, Suzanne Lenhart
Biological Sciences Faculty Publications
Tick-borne diseases have been on the rise recently, and correspondingly, there is an increased interest in implementing control measures to decrease the risk. Optimal control provides an ideal tool to identify the best method for reducing risk while accounting for the associated costs. Using a previously published model, a variety of frameworks are assessed to identify the key factors influencing mitigation strategies. The level and duration of tick-reducing efforts are key metrics for understanding the successful reduction in tick-borne disease incidence. The results show that the punctuated nature of the tick's life history plays a critical role in reducing risk …
Preliminary Analysis Of An Agent-Based Model For A Tick-Borne Disease, Holly Gaff
Preliminary Analysis Of An Agent-Based Model For A Tick-Borne Disease, Holly Gaff
Biological Sciences Faculty Publications
Ticks have a unique life history including a distinct set of life stages and a single blood meal per life stage. This makes tick-host interactions more complex from a mathematical perspective. In addition, any model of these interactions must involve a significant degree of stochasticity on the individual tick level. In an attempt to quantify these relationships, I have developed an individual-based model of the interactions between ticks and their hosts as well as the transmission of tick-borne disease between the two populations. The results from this model are compared with those from previously published differential equation based population models. …