Assessing the Efficiency of \textit{Cordon Sanitaire} as a Control Strategy of Ebola

TL;DR

This study uses a mathematical model to evaluate how cordon sanitaire strategies affect Ebola spread, revealing that strict movement restrictions can sometimes worsen overall infection levels.

Contribution

It introduces a two-patch model to analyze the impact of movement restrictions on Ebola dynamics, highlighting potential negative effects of severe restrictions.

Findings

Severe restrictions may increase total infection levels.

Moderate or targeted restrictions could be more effective.

Model provides insights for public health policy.

Abstract

We formulate a two-patch mathematical model for Ebola Virus Disease dynamics in order to evaluate the effectiveness of \textit{cordons sanitaires}, mandatory movement restrictions between communities while exploring their role on disease dynamics and final epidemic size. Simulations show that severe restrictions in movement between high and low risk areas of closely linked communities may have a deleterious impact on the overall levels of infection in the total population.