Abstract
This paper presents a mathematical model for malaria--schistosomiasis co-infection in order to investigate their synergistic relationship in the presence of treatment. We first analyse the single infection steady states, then investigate the existence and stability of equilibria and then calculate the basic reproduction numbers. Both the single-infection models and the co-infection model exhibit backward bifurcations. We carrying out a sensitivity analysis of the co-infection model and show that schistosomiasis infection may not be associated with an increased risk of malaria. Conversely, malaria infection may be associated with an increased risk of schistosomiasis. Furthermore, we found that effective treatment and prevention of schistosomiasis infection would also assist in the effective control and eradication of malaria. Finally, we apply Pontryagin's Maximum Principle to the model in order to determine optimal strategies for control of both diseases.
Highlights
Malaria and schistosomiasis often overlap in tropical and subtropical countries, imposing tremendous disease burdens [11, 19, 41]
A simple mathematical model was developed by Mushayabasa and Bhunu [33] to assess whether HIV infection is associated with an increased risk for cholera, while the co-infection dynamics of malaria and cholera were studied by Okosun and Makinde [36]
We determined reproduction numbers for each submodel and used sensitivity analysis to show that malaria control will affect schistosomiasis
Summary
Malaria and schistosomiasis often overlap in tropical and subtropical countries, imposing tremendous disease burdens [11, 19, 41]. The challenges facing the development of a highly effective malaria vaccine have generated interest in understanding the interactions between malaria and co-endemic helminth infections, such as those caused by Schistosoma, that could impair vaccine efficacy by modulating host-immune responses to Plasmodium infection and treatment [40, 41]. Both malaria and schistosomiasis are endemic to most African nations. Please note that the question mark in “Smith?” is part of the author’s name
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
