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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Appl. Math. Stat.
Sec. Mathematical Biology
Volume 11 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fams.2025.1552384
This article is part of the Research Topic Advances in Mathematical Biology and Medicine: Modeling, Analysis, and Numerical Solutions View all 5 articles
A Mathematical Modeling and Optimal Control Analysis of the Effect of Treatment-Seeking Bbehaviors on the Spread of Malaria
Provisionally accepted- 1 Debre Berhan University, Debre Berhan, Ethiopia
- 2 Jimma University, Jimma, Oromia, Ethiopia
Malaria, an infectious disease transmitted by mosquitoes and caused by the Plasmodium parasite, poses a significant global public health challenge, especially in areas lacking modern medical infrastructure. Traditional medicine often serves as either a primary or complementary treatment avenue. This study introduces a novel deterministic model that considers the impact of treatment seeking-behavior on malaria transmission dynamics. Expanding upon the existing model, we incorporate distinct groups: individuals seeking treatment at health facilities and those self-treating with traditional remedies, which lack clinical validation. The study employs mathematical techniques for a comprehensive analysis of the model, including positivity, boundedness, existence and uniqueness, equilibrium, reproduction number, sensitivity, optimal control, and numerical simulations performed using MATLAB and the fourth-order Runge-Kutta method. Furthermore, we explore three time-dependent optimal control variables: antimalarial drug treatment, personal protective measures like ITNs, and promoting awareness to discourage inappropriate traditional medicine usage, all aimed at reducing disease transmission. Sensitivity analysis helps identify key parameters affecting malaria dynamics. Notably, increased utilization of health facilities for treatment significantly reduces the basic reproduction number, highlighting the importance of effective healthcare interventions. Numerical simulations underscore the vital role of treating infected individuals at health facilities in malaria eradication efforts. Optimal control analysis suggests that a combination of the three control strategies is most effective in combating malaria. This provides insights for public health policies to address the risk factors of using clinically not validated traditional medicine in malaria-endemic areas.
Keywords: Malaria, Health facility, traditional medicine, sensitivity analysis, optimal control
Received: 27 Dec 2024; Accepted: 26 Feb 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Jaleta, Duressa and Deressa. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Sisay Fikadu Jaleta, Debre Berhan University, Debre Berhan, Ethiopia
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