MC 6460
Candidate
Joe Pharaon , Applied Mathematics, University of Waterloo
Title
How does social behavior influence the evolution of pathogen virulence?
Abstract
From
historic
pandemics
like
the
bubonic
plague
to
the
more
recent
outbreaks
of
the
Zika
virus,
human
behaviour
continues
to
influence
the
course
of
disease
spread.
The
severity
of
an
emerging
pathogen,
known
as
virulence,
is
perhaps
one
of
the
very
first
indicators
public
health
officials
attempt
to
quantify.
Research
continues
to
address
the
connection
between
social
behaviour
and
the
emergence
of
pathogen
and
its
severity,
yet
it
neglects
an
essential
point:
an
evolving
behaviour.
We
propose
to
extend
models
in
epidemiology
by
considering
a
new
variable
describing
changes
in
behaviour,
that
is
coupled
with
the
epidemiological
processes.
Our
preliminary
results
suggest
that
proper
behaviour
can
attenuate
outbreak
intensities
and
in
some
cases
completely
prevent
them.