Speaker
Description
To control mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue, for which no effective vaccine is available, several strategies focus on targeting mosquito populations. One such approach involves introducing Wolbachia, a symbiotic bacterium that blocks pathogen transmission, into the mosquito population. A mathematical model describing the introduction of Wolbachia and the subsequent population replacement has demonstrated that, in a homogeneous environment, spatial propagation occurs.
The objective of this work is to prove the blocking of this propagation in a heterogeneous environment. To achieve this goal, we divide this part into two parts:
The first part focuses on the reduction of a 2×2 reaction-diffusion system to a single closed equation, providing a simplified framework for studying the dynamics of Wolbachia propagation.
The second part investigates the study of wave blocking in a population replacement technique, where we examine scenarios in which environmental heterogeneity, particularly spatial variations in carrying capacity, may prevent the spread of Wolbachia. We identify the conditions that lead to blockage and validate our results using numerical simulations.
