Intervention Model of Malaria

Every year up to about 300 million people are infected by malaria, an infectious disease caused by Plasmodium species parasites. Consequently, nearly 660, 000 deaths occur. Infected female Anophele mosquitoes transmit the parasite to humans through their salivary glands. Although there are other species that cause malaria, P. falciparum is the most dangerous type that infects and is transmitted by humans. Mosquito elimination, avoidance of mosquitoes, sleeping nets, and spraying insecticides are a few methods to retard the spread of malaria. My project focused on the impact of sleeping nets in sub-saharan countries in Africa. A mathematical model was created and simulated by using eight differential equations. Among a number of results, a set of inequalities were derived that give necessary and sufficient conditions under which the disease would become endemic in a population. These inequalities highlight the role that the use of sleeping nets plays in supressing or diminishing a malaria outbreak.