GLOBAL DYNAMICS OF A VECTOR-HOST EPIDEMIC MODEL WITH AGE OF INFECTION

In this paper, a partial differential equation (PDE) model is proposed to explore the transmission dynamics of vector-borne diseases. The model includes both incubation age of the exposed hosts and infection age of the infectious hosts which describe incubation-age dependent removal rates in the latent period and the variable infectiousness in the infectious period, respectively. The reproductive number R-0 is derived. By using the method of Lyapunov function, the global dynamics of the PDE model is further established, and the results show that the basic reproduction number R-0 determines the transmission dynamics of vector-borne diseases: the disease-free equilibrium is globally asymptotically stable if R-0 <= 1, and the endemic equilibrium is globally asymptotically stable if R-0 > 1. The results suggest that an effective strategy to contain vector-borne diseases is decreasing the basic reproduction number R-0 below one.