Effects of pre-exposure vaccination and quarantine in the fight against ebola

Abstract

Swift quarantine offers some hope in the fight against Ebola but its implementation faces some resistance in many settings. Hence, it is critical to explore whether introducing pre-exposure vaccination in an area where quarantine for the exposed and infected is already practiced would benefit the community with regard to controlling Ebola virus disease and vice versa. We present a mathematical model that explores the potential role of pre-exposure vaccination and quarantine in the fight against Ebola. Threshold parameter of the model is computed and rigorously analysed. Sensitivity analysis is carried out in an effort to understand the effects of constituent parameters on the threshold parameter. The results indicate that pre-exposure and quarantine are able to reduce the disease threshold parameter suggesting they offer hope of Ebola virus disease control.

Keywords:

• mathematical model
• pre-exposure vaccination and quarantine

Public Interest Statement

Currently there is no vaccine against Ebola epidemics, in this manuscript the potential benefits of a yet to be developed; pre-exposure vaccine against Ebola is explored using a mathematical model. The manuscript will also explore other possible intervention strategies (quarantine and quick and safe burial of the infected dead).

Competing Interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Acknowledgements

The author thanks the handling editor and reviewers for their insighful comments which improved the manuscript.

Additional information

Funding

The authors received no direct funding for this research.

Notes on contributors

C.P. Bhunu

C.P. Bhunu (BSc Hons, MSc, DPhil) is a professor in the Department of Mathematics, University of Zimbabwe. He currently serves as an external examiner for Chinhoyi University of Technology, Harare Institute of Technology and Zimbabwe Open University. He was a visiting African scientist at Cambridge Infectious Disease Consortium (2010) and a visiting professor at the University of Venda (2012), respectively. He is a life member of the Clare Hall College, University of Cambridge. He also serves as an editor and reviewer of several international journals in Applied Mathematics. His research interests lie in the field of mathematical modelling of issues affecting mankind ranging from social issues to biological issues as well as the theoretical analysis of the mathematical models that arise in all these applications.