Modeling the Control of Zika Virus Vector Population Using the Sterile Insect Technology

Abstract

This work is aimed at formulating a mathematical model for the control of mosquito population using sterile insect technology (SIT). SIT is an environmental friendly method, which depends on the release of sterile male mosquitoes that compete with wild male mosquitoes and mate with wild female mosquitoes, which leads to the production of no offspring. The basic offspring number of the mosquitoes’ population was computed, after which we investigated the existence of two equilibrium points of the model. When the basic offspring number of the model M0, is less than or equal to 1, a mosquito extinction equilibrium point E2, which is often biologically unattainable, was shown to exits. On the other hand, if M0>1, we have the nonnegative equilibrium point E1 which is shown to be both locally and globally asymptotically stable whenever M0>1. Local sensitivity analysis was then performed to know the parameters that should be targeted by control intervention strategies and result shows that female mating probability to be with the sterile male mosquitoes ρS, mating rate of the sterile mosquito β2, and natural death rates of both aquatic and female mosquitoesμA+μF have greater impacts on the reduction and elimination of mosquitoes from a population. Simulation of the model shows that enough release of sterile male mosquitoes into the population of the wild mosquitoes controls the mosquito population and as such can reduce the spread of mosquito borne disease such as Zika.