Modeling the Transmission Dynamics of Tuberculosis in Humans

Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB) is a major threat to human health particularly in most of developing countries. In this article, we formulate and analyze a deterministic model for the transmission dynamics of pulmonary and extra-pulmonary tuberculosis. The next generation method is employed to find the basic reproduction number R0 which helps to determine whether TB clears or persists in the human population. Global stability of model equilibria is done through Lyapunov functions whereas the normalized forward sensitivity index method is adopted to determine parameters that drive tuberculosis. Analysis shows that both TB free and endemic equilibria exist. The TB free equilibrium is globally asymptotically stable whenever the basic reproduction number R0 < 1 whereas the endemic equilibrium is globally asymptotically stable whenever R0 > 1. Sensitivity analysis shows that the TB infection rate, the fraction of individuals who progress to pulmonary tuberculosis and its induced death drive TB. Numerical results indicate that when there are no interventions, susceptible humans decline significantly with time until when they are attracted to the steady state whereas latently infected, pulmonary and extra-pulmonary TB individuals increase until when they settle at the equilibrium states supporting the analytical results for existence of the endemic equilibrium. In light of these findings, we recommend treating humans infected with pulmonary TB who are carriers of the disease.