TY - JOUR
T1 - Mathematical modelling of mosquito dispersal in a heterogeneous environment
AU - Lutambi, Angelina Mageni
AU - Penny, Melissa A.
AU - Smith, Thomas
AU - Chitnis, Nakul
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors acknowledge the contributions of many colleagues to this work, in particular the members of the malaria modelling group of the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute. We thank Olivier Briet for reading and providing valuable comments on our manuscript. We also thank Amena Briet for her careful reading and edits of the manuscript. The initial version of this work was presented at the European Conference on Mathematical and Theoretical Biology held in Krakow, Poland in June, 2011. Comments received from the participants are acknowledged. We also acknowledge the funding support provided by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation through Swiss TPH and the Ifakara Health Institute. The views expressed in this work are those of the authors.
PY - 2013/2
Y1 - 2013/2
N2 - Mosquito dispersal is a key behavioural factor that affects the persistence and resurgence of several vector-borne diseases. Spatial heterogeneity of mosquito resources, such as hosts and breeding sites, affects mosquito dispersal behaviour and consequently affects mosquito population structures, human exposure to vectors, and the ability to control disease transmission. In this paper, we develop and simulate a discrete-space continuous-time mathematical model to investigate the impact of dispersal and heterogeneous distribution of resources on the distribution and dynamics of mosquito populations. We build an ordinary differential equation model of the mosquito life cycle and replicate it across a hexagonal grid (multi-patch system) that represents two-dimensional space. We use the model to estimate mosquito dispersal distances and to evaluate the effect of spatial repellents as a vector control strategy. We find evidence of association between heterogeneity, dispersal, spatial distribution of resources, and mosquito population dynamics. Random distribution of repellents reduces the distance moved by mosquitoes, offering a promising strategy for disease control.
AB - Mosquito dispersal is a key behavioural factor that affects the persistence and resurgence of several vector-borne diseases. Spatial heterogeneity of mosquito resources, such as hosts and breeding sites, affects mosquito dispersal behaviour and consequently affects mosquito population structures, human exposure to vectors, and the ability to control disease transmission. In this paper, we develop and simulate a discrete-space continuous-time mathematical model to investigate the impact of dispersal and heterogeneous distribution of resources on the distribution and dynamics of mosquito populations. We build an ordinary differential equation model of the mosquito life cycle and replicate it across a hexagonal grid (multi-patch system) that represents two-dimensional space. We use the model to estimate mosquito dispersal distances and to evaluate the effect of spatial repellents as a vector control strategy. We find evidence of association between heterogeneity, dispersal, spatial distribution of resources, and mosquito population dynamics. Random distribution of repellents reduces the distance moved by mosquitoes, offering a promising strategy for disease control.
KW - Discrete space
KW - Dispersal distance
KW - Mathematical model
KW - Mosquito dispersal
KW - Repellents
KW - Simulation
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84872145309&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.mbs.2012.11.013
DO - 10.1016/j.mbs.2012.11.013
M3 - Article
C2 - 23246807
AN - SCOPUS:84872145309
SN - 0025-5564
VL - 241
SP - 198
EP - 216
JO - Mathematical Biosciences
JF - Mathematical Biosciences
IS - 2
ER -
