A nested model for tuberculosis: Combining within-host and between-host processes in a single framework

Rafael S. Pereira (), Chris T. Bauch (), Thadeu J. P. Penna and Aquino L. Espíndola
Additional contact information
Rafael S. Pereira: Departamento de Física, Instituto de Ciências Exatas - ICEx, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Rua Des. Ellis Hermydio Figueira, 783, 27.213-145, Volta Redonda, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Chris T. Bauch: Department of Applied Mathematics, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, ON, N2L 3G1, Canada
Thadeu J. P. Penna: Departamento de Física, Instituto de Ciências Exatas - ICEx, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Rua Des. Ellis Hermydio Figueira, 783, 27.213-145, Volta Redonda, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil3Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia de Sistemas Complexos, CBPF/MCT, Rua Dr. Xavier Sigaud, 150, 22.290-180, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
Aquino L. Espíndola: Departamento de Física, Instituto de Ciências Exatas - ICEx, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Rua Des. Ellis Hermydio Figueira, 783, 27.213-145, Volta Redonda, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

International Journal of Modern Physics C (IJMPC), 2021, vol. 32, issue 12, 1-18

Abstract: Tuberculosis (TB) is among the 10 top causes of deaths worldwide, and one-quarter of the world population hosts latent TB pathogens. Therefore, avoiding the emergence of drug-resistant strains has become a central issue in TB control. In this work, we propose a nested model for TB transmission and control, wherein both within-host and between-host dynamics are modeled. We use the model to compare the effects of three types of antibiotic treatment protocols and combinations thereof in an in silico population. For a fixed value of antibiotics clearance rate and relative efficacy against resistant strains, the oscillating intermittent protocol, pure or combined, is the most effective against the sensitive strains. However, this protocol also creates a selective advantage for the resistant strains, returning the worst result in comparison to the other protocols. We suggest that nested models should be further developed, since they might be able to inform decision-makers regarding the optimal TB control protocols to be applied under the specific parameters and other epidemiological factors in different populations.

Keywords: Within-host; between-host; agent-based modeling; drug resistance; tuberculosis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.worldscientific.com/doi/abs/10.1142/S0129183121501679
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wsi:ijmpcx:v:32:y:2021:i:12:n:s0129183121501679

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from

DOI: 10.1142/S0129183121501679

Access Statistics for this article

International Journal of Modern Physics C (IJMPC) is currently edited by H. J. Herrmann

More articles in International Journal of Modern Physics C (IJMPC) from World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Tai Tone Lim ().