A game theoretic complex network model to estimate the epidemic threshold under individual vaccination behaviour and adaptive social connections.

In today's interconnected world, the spread of information is closely linked to infectious disease dynamics. Public awareness plays a crucial role, as individual vaccination decisions significantly impact collective efforts to combat emerging health threats. This study explores disease transmission within a framework integrating social connections, information sharing, and individual vaccination decisions.

An evolutionary game model of individual choices and bed net use: elucidating key aspect in malaria elimination strategies.

Insecticide-treated net (ITN) is the most applicable and cost-effective malaria intervention measure in sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere. Although ITNs have been widely distributed to malaria-endemic regions in the past, their success has been threatened by misuses (in fishing, agriculture etc.) and decay in ITN efficacy.

Disparity in socio-economic status explains the pattern of self-medication of antibiotics in India: understanding from game-theoretic perspective.

The emergence of antimicrobial resistance has raised great concern for public health in many lower-income countries including India. Socio-economic determinants like poverty, health expenditure and awareness accelerate this emergence by influencing individuals' attitudes and healthcare practices such as . This self-medication practice is highly prevalent in many countries, where antibiotics are available without prescriptions.

The effect of human vaccination behaviour on strain competition in an infectious disease: An imitation dynamic approach.

Strain competition plays an important role in shaping the dynamics of multiple pathogen outbreaks in a population. Competition may lead to exclusion of some pathogens, while it may influence the invasion of an emerging mutant in the population. However, little emphasis has been given to understand the influence of human vaccination choice on pathogen competition or strain invasion for vaccine-preventable infectious diseases.

Optimal governance and implementation of vaccination programmes to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since the recent introduction of several viable vaccines for SARS-CoV-2, vaccination uptake has become the key factor that will determine our success in containing the COVID-19 pandemic. We argue that game theory and social network models should be used to guide decisions pertaining to vaccination programmes for the best possible results. In the months following the introduction of vaccines, their availability and the human resources needed to run the vaccination programmes have been scarce in many countries.

Human choice to self-isolate in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic: A game dynamic modelling approach.

Non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) involving social-isolation strategies such as self-quarantine (SQ) and social-distancing (SD) are useful in controlling the spread of infections that are transmitted through human-to-human contacts, e.g., respiratory diseases such as COVID-19.

The epidemiology of tuberculosis-associated hyperglycemia in individuals newly screened for type 2 diabetes mellitus: systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: There is scarce evidence that tuberculosis (TB) can cause diabetes in those not previously known to be diabetic. Whilst the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends screening for Diabetes Mellitus (DM) at the onset of TB treatment, nevertheless, it remains to be elucidated which patients with TB-associated hyperglycemia are at higher risk for developing DM and stand to benefit from a more regular follow-up. This review aims to firstly quantify the reduction of newly detected hyperglycemia burden in TB patients who are on treatment over time; secondly, determine the burden of TB-associated hyperglycemia after follow-up, and thirdly, synthesize literature on risk factors for unresolved TB-associated hyperglycemia in previously undiagnosed individuals.

Optimal Management of Public Perceptions During A Flu Outbreak: A Game-Theoretic Perspective.

Public perceptions and sentiments play a crucial role in the success of vaccine uptake in the community. While vaccines have proven to be the best preventive method to combat the flu, the attitude and knowledge about vaccines are a major hindrance to higher uptake in most of the countries. The yearly coverage, especially in the vulnerable groups in the population, often remains below the herd immunity level despite the Flu Awareness Campaign organized by WHO every year worldwide.

Author Correction: Antibiotic drug-resistance as a complex system driven by socio-economic growth and antibiotic misuse.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

The epidemiology of intransient TB-induced hyperglycaemia in previously undiagnosed diabetes mellitus 2 individuals: a protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is burgeoning as a global chronic health condition. Some studies suggest that tuberculosis (TB) can even cause diabetes in those not previously known to be diabetic, which as a corollary can add to the already heavy global DM burden. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends screening for DM at the start of TB treatment; however, it remains to be elucidated which patients with TB-induced hyperglycaemia are at risk for developing DM and who would benefit from a more regular follow-up.

Antibiotic drug-resistance as a complex system driven by socio-economic growth and antibiotic misuse.

Overwhelming antibiotic use poses a serious challenge today to the public-health policymakers worldwide. Many empirical studies pointed out this ever-increasing antibiotic consumption as primary driver of the community-acquired antibiotic drug-resistance, especially in the middle- and lower-income countries. The association is well documented across spatio-temporal gradients in many parts of the world, but there is rarely any study that emphasizes the mechanism of the association, which is important for combating drug-resistance.

The impact of rare but severe vaccine adverse events on behaviour-disease dynamics: a network model.

The propagation of rumours about rare but severe adverse vaccination or infection events through social networks can strongly impact vaccination uptake. Here we model a coupled behaviour-disease system where individual risk perception regarding vaccines and infection are shaped by their personal experiences and the experiences of others. Information about vaccines and infection either propagates through the network or becomes available through globally available sources.

Game dynamic model of optimal budget allocation under individual vaccination choice.

Communicable diseases are leading cause of child mortality in developing and under-developed countries. Public health ministries in states and country allocate a considerable amount of budget every year for vaccination campaigns to control infections. Even third-party agencies such as Gates Foundation, UNDP, GAVI, World Bank, WHO also allocate huge funds to under-developed and developing countries for vaccination programs and disease eliminations.

Clinical characteristics of onchocerciasis-associated epilepsy in villages in Maridi County, Republic of South Sudan.

Purpose: To describe the clinical manifestations of persons with epilepsy (PWE) in onchocerciasis endemic villages in South Sudan.

Methods: During a survey in Maridi County in May 2018, PWE were interviewed and examined in their households by a clinical officer or medical doctor. Onchocerciasis-associated epilepsy (OAE) was defined as ≥2 seizures without any obvious cause, starting between the ages of 3-18 years in previously healthy persons who had resided for at least 3 years in the onchocerciasis endemic area.

Species interactions may help explain the erratic periodicity of whooping cough dynamics.

Incidence of whooping cough exhibits variable dynamics across time and space. The periodicity of this disease varies from annual to five years in different geographic regions in both developing and developed countries. Many hypotheses have been put forward to explain this variability such as nonlinearity and seasonality, stochasticity, variable recruitment of susceptible individuals via birth, immunization, and immune boosting.

Cross-immunity between strains explains the dynamical pattern of paramyxoviruses.

Viral respiratory tract diseases pose serious public health problems. Our ability to predict and thus, be able to prepare for outbreaks is strained by the complex factors driving the prevalence and severity of these diseases. The abundance of diseases and transmission dynamics of strains are not only affected by external factors, such as weather, but also driven by interactions among viruses mediated by human behavior and immunity.

Role of word-of-mouth for programs of voluntary vaccination: A game-theoretic approach.

We propose a model describing the synergetic feedback between word-of-mouth (WoM) and epidemic dynamics controlled by voluntary vaccination. The key feature consists in combining a game-theoretic model for the spread of WoM and a compartmental model describing VSIR disease dynamics in the presence of a program of voluntary vaccination. We evaluate and compare two scenarios for determinants of behavior, depending on what WoM disseminates: (1) vaccine advertising, which may occur whether or not an epidemic is ongoing and (2) epidemic status, notably disease prevalence.

Spatiotemporal dynamics of insect pest population under viral infection.

The interrelationship between pathogen infection and host mobility is of great importance for successful spread of disease in spatial pest population. As spread of infection depends on horizontal transmission of pathogen, there are numerous factors like susceptibility, latent period, host movement that influence overall effectiveness of the control policy. Initiation of new infection cycle depends on density of infected inoculum in the site.

Mathematical models of the interplay between individual vaccinating decisions and disease dynamics: a need for closer integration of models and data.

In non-mandatory vaccination policies, individual choice can be a major driver of vaccine uptake. Choice thereby influences whether public health targets can be achieved. Individual vaccinating decisions can be influenced by perceptions of vaccine risks or infection risks.

Evolutionary game theory and social learning can determine how vaccine scares unfold.

Immunization programs have often been impeded by vaccine scares, as evidenced by the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) autism vaccine scare in Britain. A "free rider" effect may be partly responsible: vaccine-generated herd immunity can reduce disease incidence to such low levels that real or imagined vaccine risks appear large in comparison, causing individuals to cease vaccinating. This implies a feedback loop between disease prevalence and strategic individual vaccinating behavior.

"Wait and see" vaccinating behaviour during a pandemic: a game theoretic analysis.

During the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, many individuals did not seek vaccination immediately but rather decided to "wait and see" until further information was available on vaccination costs. This behaviour implies two sources of strategic interaction: as more individuals become vaccinated, both the perceived vaccination cost and the probability that susceptible individuals become infected decline. Here we analyze the outcome of these two strategic interactions by combining game theory with a disease transmission model during an outbreak of a novel influenza strain.

Optimal control of vertically transmitted disease: an integrated approach.

We study the dynamics of a disease under administration of a vaccine and antiviral drug, where the disease transmits directly from the parents to the offspring (vertical transmission) and also through contact with infective individuals (horizontal transmission). While vaccination to those susceptible reduces the horizontal transmission, administration of the antiviral drug to infected individuals lessens the chance of vertical transmission. Thus the vaccine and antiviral drug play different roles in controlling the disease, which has both vertical and horizontal transmission.