The dynamics of Ascaris lumbricoides infections
The Anderson-May model of human parasite infections and specifically that for the intestinal worm Ascaris lumbricoides is reconsidered, with a view to deriving the observed characteristic negative binomial distribution which is frequently found in human communities. The means to obtaining this resul...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Journal article |
| Language: | English |
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Springer US
2016
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| _version_ | 1826270223351676928 |
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| author | Fowler, A Hollingsworth, D |
| author_facet | Fowler, A Hollingsworth, D |
| author_sort | Fowler, A |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | The Anderson-May model of human parasite infections and specifically that for the intestinal worm Ascaris lumbricoides is reconsidered, with a view to deriving the observed characteristic negative binomial distribution which is frequently found in human communities. The means to obtaining this result lies in reformulating the continuous Anderson-May model as a stochastic process involving two essential populations, the density of mature worms in the gut, and the density of mature eggs in the environment. The resulting partial differential equation for the generating function of the joint probability distribution of eggs and worms can be partially solved in the appropriate limit where the worm lifetime is much greater than that of the mature eggs in the environment. Allowing for a mean field nonlinearity, and for egg immigration from neighbouring communities, a negative binomial worm distribution can be predicted, whose parameters are determined by those in the continuous Anderson-May model; this result assumes no variability in predisposition to the infection. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-06T21:37:29Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:46c4b7f4-9be8-4c0a-b212-c6f37226dfc1 |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-06T21:37:29Z |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| publisher | Springer US |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:46c4b7f4-9be8-4c0a-b212-c6f37226dfc12022-03-26T15:15:51ZThe dynamics of Ascaris lumbricoides infectionsJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:46c4b7f4-9be8-4c0a-b212-c6f37226dfc1EnglishSymplectic Elements at OxfordSpringer US2016Fowler, AHollingsworth, DThe Anderson-May model of human parasite infections and specifically that for the intestinal worm Ascaris lumbricoides is reconsidered, with a view to deriving the observed characteristic negative binomial distribution which is frequently found in human communities. The means to obtaining this result lies in reformulating the continuous Anderson-May model as a stochastic process involving two essential populations, the density of mature worms in the gut, and the density of mature eggs in the environment. The resulting partial differential equation for the generating function of the joint probability distribution of eggs and worms can be partially solved in the appropriate limit where the worm lifetime is much greater than that of the mature eggs in the environment. Allowing for a mean field nonlinearity, and for egg immigration from neighbouring communities, a negative binomial worm distribution can be predicted, whose parameters are determined by those in the continuous Anderson-May model; this result assumes no variability in predisposition to the infection. |
| spellingShingle | Fowler, A Hollingsworth, D The dynamics of Ascaris lumbricoides infections |
| title | The dynamics of Ascaris lumbricoides infections |
| title_full | The dynamics of Ascaris lumbricoides infections |
| title_fullStr | The dynamics of Ascaris lumbricoides infections |
| title_full_unstemmed | The dynamics of Ascaris lumbricoides infections |
| title_short | The dynamics of Ascaris lumbricoides infections |
| title_sort | dynamics of ascaris lumbricoides infections |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT fowlera thedynamicsofascarislumbricoidesinfections AT hollingsworthd thedynamicsofascarislumbricoidesinfections AT fowlera dynamicsofascarislumbricoidesinfections AT hollingsworthd dynamicsofascarislumbricoidesinfections |