Modeling the impact of short-term displacement of domestic animals on the transmission dynamics of brucellosis

Abstract

Brucellosis, a prevalent zoonotic disease caused by bacteria from the genus Brucella, presents a substantial public health and economic challenges worldwide. In this paper, we formulate a two-patch deterministic model to investigate the impact of short-term displacement of domestic animals on the transmission dynamics of brucellosis within and between patches with heterogeneous risk of infection. The model analysis is performed, and the basic reproduction number (R0) is computed and used in the stability analysis of equilibria. A global sensitivity analysis is performed using Latin Hypercube Sampling (LHS) approach to check the impact of model parameters over a period of time. Numerical simulation results indicate that the increase in time spent by domestic animals in high-risk areas, such as communal grazing areas or wildlife interfaces, significantly increases the spread of infections. This underscores the importance of considering short-term animal movements to communal grazing areas and water points in brucellosis management strategies. It equips policymakers and stakeholders with actionable insights to combat the burden of the disease.

Keywords

• Brucellosis
• Patch model
• Domestic animals
• Transmission dynamics
• Short-term displacement