A deterministic resource scheduling model in epidemic control: A case study
The resources available to tackle an epidemic infection are usually limited, while the time and effort required to control it are increasing functions of the starting time of the containment effort. The problem of scheduling limited available resources, when there are several areas where the population is infected, is considered. A deterministic model, appropriate for large populations, where random interactions can be averaged out, is used for the epidemics rate of spread. The problem is tackled using the concept of deteriorating jobs, i.e. the model represents increasing loss rate as more susceptibles become infected, and increasing time and effort needed for the epidemics containment. A case study for a proposed application of the model in the case of the mass vaccination against A(H1N1)v influenza in the Attica region, Greece and a comparative study of the models performance vs. the applied random practice are presented.
scheduling case study deteriorating jobs disaster management