Feedback linearization-based vaccination control strategies for true-mass action type SEIR epidemic models

Abstract. This paper presents a feedback linearization-based control strategy for a SEIR (susceptible plus infected plus infectious plus removed populations) propagation disease model. The model takes into account the total population amounts as a refrain for the illness transmission since its increase makes more difficult contacts among susceptible and infected. The control objective is novel in the sense that the asymptotically tracking of the removed-by-immunity population to the total population while achieving simultaneously the remaining population (i.e. susceptible plus infected plus infectious) to asymptotically converge to zero. The vaccination policy is firstly designed on the above proposed tracking objective. Then, it is proven that identical vaccination rules might be found based on a general feedback linearization technique. Such a formal technique is very useful in control theory which provides a general method to generate families of vaccination policies with sound technical background which include those proposed in the former sections of the paper. The output zero dynamics of the normal canonical form in the theoretical feedback linearization analysis is identified with that of the removed-by-immunity population. The various proposed vaccination feedback rules involved one of more of the partial populations and there is a certain flexibility in their designs since some control parameters being multiplicative coefficients of the various populations may be zeroed. The basic properties of stability and positivity of the solutions are investigated in a joint way. The equilibrium points and their stability properties as well as the positivity of the solutions are also investigated.