The structural simplification of an epidemiological compartment model.
It is shown how a multicompartmental infectious disease model can be systematically examined for reduction of structural complexity. For steadystate situations, four basic rules are proposed for eliminating components of flow-lines, whole flow-lines, and compartments, plus combining compartments. An application to a typhoid fever model allows calculations to be done on a pocket calculator. The approach could be particularly important in developing countries.
D003141:Communicable Diseases / Q000635:transmission*; D003906:Developing Countries; D004198:Disease Susceptibility; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D014435:Typhoid Fever / Q000635:transmission