Biomedical subjects

F W Saporu

Publications and source records attributed to F W Saporu.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1993

Analysis of survival data for Simulium damnosum using the regression method.

The survival data (under laboratory conditions) for blackfly (Simulium damnosum) are analysed using Cox's proportional hazard model, and an accelerated life model assuming a Weibull baseline survival function. The results show that allowing for the numerical density of microfilariae uptake is important as a covariate term in the Cox's model. High values of the covariate significantly reduce the chances of survival of the fly. The appropriate explicit expression for the survival function obtained can explain the low proportion of infective flies observed in the field.

Animals↗

PubMed1984

Modelling the migration of Onchocerca volvulus in simuliids, using a simple compartmental process.

A simple compartmental process, which is time-homogeneous and has differing transition rates between compartments, is discussed. When such a process is hierarchical, with all individuals released into the first compartment, the resulting distribution of individuals over the various compartments is multinomial. This process is applied to the migration of Onchocerca volvulus in simuliids and appears to represent successfully the early migration from the stomach through the abdomen to the thorax, provided that allowances are made for the engorgement period and the encapsulation of the blood meal by a peritrophic membrane.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Modelling endemic onchocerciasis in man in the presence of vector controls.

A stochastic model for a parasitic disease is proposed which describes the acquisition of infectious material from an external source and the subsequent deterioration of the host reacting to the internally produced parasite. The model considers the endemic situation, where the disease is uncontrolled and the structure is both hierarchical and irreversible. The resulting compartmental model can be modified to incorporate piecewise-constant migration rates to respond to possible geographical and sociological fluctuations, which could affect the epidemiological dynamics. The model is illustrated using onchocerciasis prevalence data collected from nine West African village communities in 1975 and 1981, before and after the implementation of widespread larvacide controls as part of the O.C.P. in the Upper Volta region. Significance of the sex effects within onchocerciasis transmission is investigated and the effectiveness of controls is discussed.

Adolescent↗