A Comparative Study Between Two Systems with and Without Awareness in Controlling HIV/AIDS

Abstract

It has always been a priority for all nations to reduce new HIV infections by implementing a comprehensive HIV prevention programme at a sufficient scale. Recently, the ‘HIV counselling & testing’ (HCT) campaign is gaining public attention, where HIV patients are identified through screening and immediately sent under a course of antiretroviral treatment (ART), neglecting the time extent they have been infected. In this article, we study a nonlinear mathematical model for the transmission dynamics of HIV/AIDS system receiving drug treatment along with effective awareness programs through media. Here, we consider two different circumstances: when treatment is only effective and when both treatment and awareness are included. The model is analyzed qualitatively using the stability theory of differential equations. The global stabilities of the equilibria under certain conditions are determined in terms of the model reproduction number. The effects of changes in some key epidemiological parameters are investigated. Projections are made to predict the long term dynamics of the disease. The epidemiological implications of such projections on public health planning and management are discussed. These studies show that the aware populations were less vulnerable to HIV infection than the unaware population.

Keywords

• epidemic model
• hiv
• awareness
• anti-retroviral therapy
• basic reproductive number
• numerical simulation