Infectious diseases are transmitted through various
different mechanisms including person to person
interactions, by insect vectors and via vertical
transmission from a parent to an unborn offspring. The
population dynamics of such disease transmission can be very
complicated and the development of rational strategies for
controlling and preventing the spread of these diseases
requires careful modeling and analysis.
The book describes current methods for formulating models
and analyzing the dynamics of the propagation of diseases
which include vertical transmission as one of the mechanisms
for their spread. Generic models that describe broad classes
of diseases as well as models that are tailored to the
dynamics of a specific infection are formulated and
analyzed. The effects of incubation periods, maturation
delays, and age-structure, interactions between disease
transmission and demographic changes, population crowding,
spatial spread, chaotic dynamic behavior, seasonal
periodicities and discrete time interval events are studied
within the context of specific disease transmission models.
No previous background in disease transmission modeling and
analysis is assumedand the required biological concepts and
mathematical methods are gradually introduced within the
context of specific disease transmission models. Graphs are
widely used to illustrate and explain the modeling
assumptions and results.
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