Optimal Control Problem for Cholera Disease and Cost-Effectiveness Analysis

Abstract

Cholera is a disease that continues to be a threat to public health globally and is an indicator of inequity and lack of social development in countries. For this reason, strategies for its control need to be investigated. In this work, an optimal control problem related to cholera disease was formulated by introducing personal protection, drug treatment and water sanitation as control strategies. First, the existence and characterization of controls to minimize the performance index or cost function was proved by using classic control theory. Then, the theoretical results were validated with numerical experiments by using data reported in the literature. Finally, the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed controls were determined through a cost-effectiveness analysis. The results showed that the use of the three controls simultaneously is the cheapest and most effective strategy to control the disease.