Modelling and biological control of vector-borne diseases: the case of Malaria and Dengue

Taking into account all the infectious disease spread worldwide, vector-borne diseases account for over 17%. For a huge part of them, no efficient vaccine is available, and control efforts must be done on the vector population. For this, the main drives of disease transmission will be addressed to understand which factors modulate the spatio-temporal patterns observed, especially in Brazil. Combining techniques of data analysis with mathematical models and control theory, the plan is to work on data analysis to define potential biotic and abiotic factors that drives malaria and dengue disease dynamics; to study and model the effects of seasonality on the spread of the diseases; to understand spatial aspects of the transmission through the setup of models capable to account for nonlocal and heterogeneous aspect; and to analyse alternative approaches of mosquito control, especially the biological control methods based on sterile mosquitoes or on infection by bacterium that reduces the vectorial capacity.

Project details

Modeling

Mar 2020 — Dec 2023

Brazil