Preliminary analysis of an agent-based model for a tick-borne disease

Math Biosci Eng. 2011 Apr;8(2):463-73. doi: 10.3934/mbe.2011.8.463.

Abstract

Ticks have a unique life history including a distinct set of life stages and a single blood meal per life stage. This makes tick-host interactions more complex from a mathematical perspective. In addition, any model of these interactions must involve a significant degree of stochasticity on the individual tick level. In an attempt to quantify these relationships, I have developed an individual-based model of the interactions between ticks and their hosts as well as the transmission of tick-borne disease between the two populations. The results from this model are compared with those from previously published differential equation based population models. The findings show that the agent-based model produces significantly lower prevalence of disease in both the ticks and their hosts than what is predicted by a similar differential equation model.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Computer Simulation
  • Disease Vectors*
  • Host-Parasite Interactions*
  • Humans
  • Incidence
  • Models, Biological*
  • Models, Statistical
  • Pilot Projects
  • Population Dynamics*
  • Tick-Borne Diseases / epidemiology*
  • Tick-Borne Diseases / physiopathology*