Cholera Transmission Dynamics with Sanitation Control Measures

TL;DR

This paper develops a detailed mathematical model of cholera transmission that includes both direct and environmental routes, evaluating combined intervention strategies to optimize disease control in resource-limited settings.

Contribution

It introduces an extended SIR model incorporating environmental transmission and multiple interventions, providing new insights into cholera control strategies.

Findings

Combined interventions significantly reduce infection prevalence.

Water treatment is critical for effective cholera prevention.

Model offers a quantitative basis for policy formulation.

Abstract

Cholera remains a significant public health challenge globally, particularly affecting regions with inadequate water, sanitation, and hygiene infrastructures. This study presents a comprehensive mathematical model extending the classical Susceptible-Infected-Recovered (SIR) model by explicitly incorporating both direct human-to-human and indirect environment-to-human transmission routes of Vibrio cholerae. The proposed model systematically integrates three primary intervention strategies-human sanitation, environmental sanitation, and vaccination. We derive the basic reproduction number (R0) through rigorous mathematical analyses and establish stability conditions for disease-free and endemic equilibria. Numerical simulations underscore the superior Efficacy of combined intervention approaches, demonstrating significant reductions in infection prevalence and epidemic duration compared to singular strategies. Sensitivity and bifurcation analyses highlight the critical influence of environmental transmission parameters, emphasizing water treatment's pivotal role in effective cholera prevention. This study provides a robust quantitative basis for formulating optimized, context-specific cholera control policies, particularly suited for implementation in resource-limited settings.