Qualitative analysis of a cholera bacteriophage model (Q355922)

Summary: Cholera still remains a severe global threat and is currently spreading in Africa and other parts of the world. The role of lytic bacteriophages as an intervention of cholera outbreaks is investigated using a mathematical model. Dynamics of cholera is discussed on the basis of the basic reproduction number \(R_0\). Conditions of Hopf bifurcations are also derived for a positive net growth rate of Vibrio cholerae. Stability analysis and numerical simulations suggest that bacteriophage may contribute to lessening the severity of cholera epidemics by reducing the number of Vibrio cholerae in the environment. Hence with the presence of phage virus, cholera is self-limiting in nature. By using phage as a biological control agent in endemic areas, one may also influence the temporal dynamics of cholera epidemics while reducing the excessive use of chemicals. We also performed stochastic analysis which suggests that the model system is globally asymptotically stable in probability when the strengths of white noise are less than some specific quantities.