Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jkksz Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T02:34:10.180Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

A mathematical modelling approach for treatment and control of Echinococcus multilocularis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 January 2020

Aisha Khan
Affiliation:
Department of Biosciences, COMSATS University Islamabad, Islamabad, Pakistan
Haroon Ahmed*
Affiliation:
Department of Biosciences, COMSATS University Islamabad, Islamabad, Pakistan
Ayesha Sohail
Affiliation:
Department of Mathematics, COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore Campus, Pakistan
Fatima Alam
Affiliation:
Department of Mathematics, COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore Campus, Pakistan
Sami Simsek
Affiliation:
Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Firat, Elazig, Turkey
*
Author for correspondence: Haroon Ahmed, E-mail: [email protected], [email protected]

Abstract

Alveolar echinococcosis (AE) is a zoonotic parasitic diseases caused by a cestode parasite known as Echinococcus multilocularis. The parasite has a wildlife cycle with definitive hosts (foxes) and small mammals as intermediate hosts (rodents) while humans are the accidental hosts. Parasite infection pressure relation to time of the year and age dependent infection pressure for parasite abundance also depend on the urbanization. The aim of current work is forecasting the thresholds via the computational analysis of the disease spread which is a useful approach since it can help to design the experimental settings with better planning and efficiency. Network analysis when interlinked with the computational techniques provides better insight into the spatial and temporal heterogeneities. In the present study, a mathematical framework that describes the transmission dynamics and control measures of E. multilocularis in foxes is documented. We used treatment of foxes with baits for the prevention of the E. multilocularis infection. A novel approach of networking, called Petri net (PN), based on density dependent differential equations, is utilized during this research. The accurate description of the transmission of the parasite and the effect of drug on it is provided to the readers in this article. The transitions, which are difficult to analyse theoretically, are presented with the aid of the discrete approach of networking. A discrete mathematical framework can prove to be an accurate and robust tool to analyse and control the parasite dynamics.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2019

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ali, I, Panni, MK, Iqbal, A, Munir, I, Ahmad, S and Ali, A (2015) Molecular characterization of Echinococcus species in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Acta Scientiae Veterinariae 43, 1277.Google Scholar
Brochier, B, Kieny, M, Costy, F, Coppens, P, Bauduin, B, Lecocq, J, Languet, B, Chappuis, G, Desmettre, P and Aademanyo, K (1991) Large-scale eradication of rabies using recombinant vaccinia-rabies vaccine. Nature 354, 520.10.1038/354520a0CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Eckert, J and Deplazes, P (2004) Biological, epidemiological, and clinical aspects of Echinococcosis, a zoonosis of increasing concern. Clinical Microbiology Reviews 17, 107135.10.1128/CMR.17.1.107-135.2004CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Eckert, J, Deplazes, P and Kern, P (2011) Alveolar echinococcosis (Echinococcus multilocularis) and neotropical forms of echinococcosis (Echinococcus Vogeli and Echinococcus Oligarthrus). In Palmer, SR, Soulsby, L, Torgerson, PR and Brown, DWG (eds), Oxford Textbook of Zoonoses Biology, Clinical Practice, and Public Health Control. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 669699.Google Scholar
Fischer, C, Reperant, LA, Weber, JM, Hegglin, D and Deplazes, P (2005). Echinococcus multilocularis infections of rural, residential and urban foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in the canton of Geneva, Switzerland. Parasite 12, 339346.10.1051/parasite/2005124339CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heglin, D and Deplazes, P (2008) Control strategy for Echinococcus multilocularis. Emerging Infectious Diseases 14, 16261628.10.3201/eid1410.080522CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heiner, M, Gilbert, D and Donaldson, R (2008) Petri Nets for systems and synthetic biology. In International School on Formal Methods for the Design of Computer, Communication and Software Systems. Berlin, Heidelberg, Germany: Springer. pp. 215264.Google Scholar
Liu, F, Heiner, M and Gilbert, D (2017) Coloured Petri nets for multilevel, multiscale and multidimensional modelling of biological systems. Briefings in Bioinformatics 20, 877886.10.1093/bib/bbx150CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lucius, R and Bilger, B (1995) Echinococcus multilocularis in Germany: increased awareness or spreading of a parasite? Parasitology Today 11, 430434.10.1016/0169-4758(95)80030-1CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rehman, F, Muhammad, S, Ashraf, I, Mahmood, K, Ruby, T and Bibi, I (2013). Effect of farmers’ socioeconomic characteristics on access to agricultural information: empirical evidence from Pakistan. The Journal of Animal & Plant Sciences 23, 324329.Google Scholar
Reperant, L, Hegglin, D, Fischer, C, Kohler, L, Weber, JM and Deplazes, P (2007) Influence of urbanization on the epidemiology of intestinal helminths of the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) in Geneva, Switzerland. Parasitology Research 101, 605611.10.1007/s00436-007-0520-0CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reuter, S, Nussle, K and Kolokythas, O (2001) Alveolar liver echinococcosis: a comparative study of three imaging techniques. Infection 29, 119125.10.1007/s15010-001-1081-2CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sohail, A (2019) Inference of biomedical data sets using Bayesian machine learning. Biomedical Engineering: Applications, Basis and Communications 31, 1950030.Google Scholar
Wootton, MJ, Andrews, J, Lloyd, AL, Smith, R, Arul, AJ, Vinod, G, Prasad, SH and Garg, V (2019) Petri nets and pseudo-bond graphs for a nuclear reactor primary coolant system. Proceedings of the 29th European Safety and Reliability Conference.10.3850/978-981-11-2724-3_0536-cdCrossRefGoogle Scholar