Computational and Mathematical Methods in Medicine
Volume 8 (2007), Issue 4, Pages 235-244
doi:10.1080/17486700701695167
Original Article

Prevalence of Aquatic Insects and Arsenic Concentration Determine the Geographical Distribution of Mycobacterium ulcerans Infection

Anthony Y. Aidoo and Bonsu Osei

Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Eastern Connecticut State University, Willimantic, CT 06226, USA

Received 6 June 2006; Revised 15 May 2007; Accepted 20 September 2007

Copyright © 2007 Hindawi Publishing Corporation. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

A modified SIR model is used to explain the transmission of Mycobacterium ulcerans (MU) and its dependence on arsenic (As) environments. Some studies have suggested that As plays a major role in the spread and prevalence of buruli ulcer (BU). In addition, it has been hypothesized that a vector in the form of a water-bug plays a key role in the epidemiology of BU. We develop an epidemiological model based on these assumptions for the dynamics and prevalence of BU and show that As positively induces the growth and spread of MU.