Convergence of a finite volume scheme for nonlocal reaction-diffusion systems modelling an epidemic disease (Q1030551)

The Kermack-McKendrick model (SIR model) is investigated in this paper. This model is the mathematical model for the spread of an infectious disease in an unstructured population. The total population is assumed to be constant and can be divided into three groups depending on the relation to infect. From mathematical point of view this model can be represent by a system of three reaction diffusion partial differential equations with homogeneous Neumann boundary conditions and prescribed initial conditions for all three components \(u_i\), \(i=1,2,3\) which are the unknowns of the system and represents the density of all three classes of population. Generalization of this model -SARS model is also presented in this paper. First the weak solution of proposed SIR model is derived, and then a numerical method using discretization by finite volume method in space and classical Euler time discretization is presented. The proof of the existence of a unique weak solution and the convergence of numerical solution to this weak one is the main results of the paper. This convergence proof is based on appropriate apriori estimates and general \(L^p\) compactness criterion. Numerical experiments using the proposed finite volume method conclude the paper. First example represents the problem of SIR model on a rectangular domain with uniform finite volume mesh. Then for second example in which SARS model is computed, first the numerical scheme for this model is derived and than again the results in rectangular 2D space dimension domain is computed. Reviewer's remark: There are some missprints and not very correct notations in the paper, e.g. missing reference on page 824, incorrect braces of time interval in the functional space for test functions \(\varphi_i\), using \(\mathcal D\) for functional space as well for admissible discretization of \(Q_T\), missing \(m(K_0)\) in formulas (2.4)--(2.7) for discretization the integral \(\int_{\Omega} u_i \,dx\dots\)