Crooks and Hailegiorgis (2014) developed a cholera disease model implemented in MASON, based on theDadaab refugee camp in Kenya which is home to approximately 250,000 individuals which is shown in the Figure below. Poor sanitation and housing conditions within the camp contribute to frequent incidents of cholera outbreaks. The intention of this model is to explore the spread of cholera at the individual level. The progress of cholera transmission is represented through a Susceptible-Exposed-Infected-Recovered (SEIR) model and integrates geographical data with agents' daily activities within a refugee camp. Results from such a model show how cholera infections are impacted by agents' movement and source of contamination.For example, one can ask 'what if' questions, in the sense using the example here 'what if' a borehole is infected with cholera bacteria, how will it spread over space and time.
Graphical User interface of the model. From top left clockwise: Legend, Simulation display,health status of individual camp dwellers, agents activities, household size composition, parameter settings,and a clock recording the time.
Model Available at: http://css1.gmu.edu/Cholera/. Alternatively for a more upto date version of the model see: https://github.com/eclab/mason/tree/master/contrib/geomason/sim/app/geo.
Reference:
Crooks, A.T. and Hailegiorgis, A.B. (2014), 'An Agent-based Modelling Approach Applied to the Spread of Cholera', Environmental Modelling and Software, 62: 164-177.
Click on the image below to see a YouTube movie of the model:
