Submission Type
Poster
Start Date
April 2020
Abstract
Syphilis is an STI that has recently made a resurgence in homosexual populations. When infected, a patient has two options: seek treatment immediately or do not seek treatment. I used a system of differential equations that includes susceptible, exposed, treatment receptive, treatment non-receptive, cured, and dead state variables in order to determine the relationships among transmission rate, treatment options, and death rate. My model suggests that an individual’s treatment option has a larger effect on death rate than the transmission rate inherent to the disease. The model also contains two sets of equilibria: an unstable trivial disease free condition and stable non-trivial equilibria in which the susceptible state converges on 0.063, exposed converges on 0.024, treatment receptive converges on 0.012, treatment non-receptive converges on 0.63, cured converges on 0.26, and dead converges on 0.012. My results indicate that education about treatment options may reduce the burden of syphilis in the population.
Recommended Citation
Ipolito, Jason, "469— Life or Death: Decision Making in Sexual Disease Treatment Matters" (2020). GREAT Day Posters. 71.
https://knightscholar.geneseo.edu/great-day-symposium/great-day-2020/posters-2020/71
Included in
469— Life or Death: Decision Making in Sexual Disease Treatment Matters
Syphilis is an STI that has recently made a resurgence in homosexual populations. When infected, a patient has two options: seek treatment immediately or do not seek treatment. I used a system of differential equations that includes susceptible, exposed, treatment receptive, treatment non-receptive, cured, and dead state variables in order to determine the relationships among transmission rate, treatment options, and death rate. My model suggests that an individual’s treatment option has a larger effect on death rate than the transmission rate inherent to the disease. The model also contains two sets of equilibria: an unstable trivial disease free condition and stable non-trivial equilibria in which the susceptible state converges on 0.063, exposed converges on 0.024, treatment receptive converges on 0.012, treatment non-receptive converges on 0.63, cured converges on 0.26, and dead converges on 0.012. My results indicate that education about treatment options may reduce the burden of syphilis in the population.
Comments
Sponsors: Dr. Gregg Hartvigsen (Biology Department), Dr. Christopher Leary (Mathematics Department).