Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

A Game-Theoretic Model Of Monkeypox To Assess Vaccination Strategies, Sri Vibhaav Bankuru, Samuel Kossol, William Hou, Parsa Mahmoudi, Jan Rychtář, Dewey Taylor

Mathematics and Applied Mathematics Publications

Monkeypox (MPX) is a zoonotic disease similar to smallpox. Its fatality rate is about 11% and it is endemic to the Central and West African countries. In this paper, we analyze a compartmental model of MPX dynamics. Our goal is to see whether MPX can be controlled and eradicated by voluntary vaccinations. We show that there are three equilibria—disease free, fully endemic and previously neglected semi-endemic (with disease existing only among humans). The existence of semi-endemic equilibrium has severe implications should the MPX virus mutate to increased viral fitness in humans. We find that MPX is controllable and can be …