Modelling of transmission and control of Lassa fever via Caputo fractional-order derivative

A B S T R A C T This study formulates a new integer-order ordinary differential equation (ODE) Lassa fever model, through which its corresponding fractional-order differential equation (FODE) is devised via the Caputo fractional-order derivative. The existence and uniqueness of the solution of proposed FODE are studied through the fixed point theory. Using the Mittag-Leffler function, the positivity of the FODE model is determined. As a disease control measure, a culling strategy is applied on the population of rodents. Though this approach reduces the number of infected rodents, it does not completely eradicate the disease in humans. This finding can be relevant in ecological studies since it is practically impossible to cull the whole rodents potentially spreading the Lassa fever virus. (c) 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This study formulates a new integer-order ordinary differential equation (ODE) Lassa fever model, and devises its corresponding fractional-order differential equation (FODE) using the Caputo fractional-order derivative. The study explores the existence and uniqueness of the solution of the proposed FODE through fixed point theory, and determines the positivity of the FODE model using the Mittag-Leffler function. The results show that although a culling strategy on the population of rodents can reduce the number of infected rodents, it cannot completely eradicate the disease in humans.