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DOE OSTI · 1606334

The Differential Equations That Model Diseases

Miller, Jonah Maxwell
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Abstract

In this brief tutorial, I will describe the simplest way of modeling a deadly infectious disease, such as COVID-19. I will show that at early times, the disease grows exponentially, but at late times, falls off like a Bell curve. I will solve the equations numerically with Python. A common mathematical model is the so-called compartmental model, where diseases can move people between "categories" such as healthy, infectious, or truly sick. This is a large, well established field and there are many good resources on this topic. I started with the SIAM review article The mathematics of infectious diseases. However, there are many excellent textbooks and more modern reviews as well.

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60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING

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BibTeXRIS

Miller, Jonah Maxwell. 2020-03-16. The Differential Equations That Model Diseases. https://doi.org/10.2172/1606334

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