MATHEMATICAL MODELING OF PORCINE REPRODUCTIVE AND RESPIRATORY SYNDROME INCORPORATING DECAYING INFECTIOUSNESS AND PERIODIC INOCULATION

Abstract

The porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) is a well- known epidemic disease, causing large economic losses in the swine in- dustry.   High rates of morbidity from this infectious disease in swine farms could cause severe financial crisis to the countries with swine in- dustries as a whole.  It is therefore crucial that all efforts are brought to bear to discover as much as possible about the disease, to predict its progress as well as discover optimal prevention and control strategies. In this endeavor, mathematical models of the disease are needed to study the behavior of the disease and control strategies.  Here, we construct  a mathematical model which incorporates decaying infectiousness and the effect of periodic inoculation to prevent the spread of the disease.  We investigate the dynamic behavior of the model system and carry out a stability analysis. Our theoretical results are able to shed some light onto the effect of periodic inoculation on the management and control of the spread of the disease in the swine population.