Population and Individual Based Ross-Macdonald Models: Which one we should use?

Abstract

Ross-Macdonald models are the most used framework to model vector-borne disease dynamics. Here we present different formulations of the Ross-Macdonald model using systems of ordinary differential equations as well as individual based models. We compare the solutions using different distributions for the infectious and latency periods using statistics, like the epidemic peak, or epidemic fnal size, to characterize the epidermic curves. The basic reproduction number R0 for each formulation is computed and compared with empirical estimations obtained with the individual based models. The importance of considering the latency period distribution, as well as the use of realistic distributions for the infectious periods is demonstrated and discussed