Heterogeneity in mosquito biting rates is a key driver of malaria transmission dynamics and strongly influences the distribution of cases within a population. We develop a stochastic compartmental model describing malaria transmission between humans and mosquitoes, incorporating variation in biting exposure. We quantify the level of biting heterogeneity required to generate different Pareto...
Many animal species have been shown to use search patterns described by Lévy flight instead of particle-like Brownian motion (\cite{Humphries2012}, \cite{Reynolds2007}, \cite{Sims2008}). To investigate which type of random walk describes the search pattern of mosquitoes, we analyse flight tracks obtained by infrared recordings of Anopheles mosquitoes in a screened cage by looking at the...
Pronounced demographic heterogeneity in immunity is a defining feature of malaria; slowly acquired through repeated and sustained exposure, yet vanishing when this ceases. While compartmental models offer computational efficiency and may capture population-level trends, they often simplify the complex, cumulative nature of acquired immunity against the disease. Furthermore, varying levels of...
Effectively assessing outbreak control strategies in real-time remains a substantial public health challenge. During the COVID-19 pandemic, public health and social measures (PHSMs) were often implemented and relaxed under a "tiered" system to balance the benefits and costs associated with broad societal measures. To guide decision making, modelling studies designed frameworks for tiered PHSMs...
Heterogeneity is a defining feature of infectious disease systems, shaping transmission patterns, intervention effectiveness and prospects for elimination. Yet capturing relevant sources of variation remains a central challenge for mathematical modellers. This mini-symposium brings together researchers developing novel approaches to incorporating heterogeneity across scales.
Talks will...
