Malaria, an infectious disease prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa, is transmitted to
humans through mosquito bites, and ordinary differential equation models have often
been used to describe the spread of the disease. A basic agent-based model (ABM) of
malaria transmission is established and compared to an ODE model of the disease in
order to ascertain the similarity of the ABM to typical modeling approaches.
Additionally, the ABM is described using protocol from current literature. In order to
illustrate the flexibility of the ABM, the basic ABM is modified to incorporate the
use of insecticide-treated bed nets (ITNs) and the effect of acquired immunity. The
simulations incorporating acquired immunity and the use of ITNs show a decrease in
the prevalence of the disease due to these factors. Additionally, the ABM can
easily be modified to account for other complicated issues affecting malaria
spread.
Keywords
malaria, agent-based modeling, population modeling