The case for mathematical modelling of schistosomiasis.
Large problems, such as the large-scale transmission of parasitic disease, are complex and difficult to predict. Understanding them, in order to make cost-efficient choices about possible control interventions, requires knowledge from a very wide range of specialists. Modelling the system can help to do this, but must not ignore the specific requirements of administrators and executives who have to work with high-level decisions about disease control. To many, the modelling approach seems arcane and divorced from reality, unable to answer the decision-makers. But techniques are improving, and in this article, Norman Bailey puts the case for the mathematical modelling of schistosomiasis.
Bailey
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Division d'Informatique Médicale, Hôpital Cantonal Universitaire, 1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland.