A mathematical framework for integrating epidemic dynamics and intervention strategies to mitigate hearing loss from lassa virus

Lassa fever is a viral hemorrhagic illness that is transmitted by rodents and has been recognized to have long-term complications, almost exclusively affecting survivors and their experience of permanent hearing loss. This study explores integrating epidemic dynamics with intervention strategies to mitigate the emerging, yet neglected, outcome of Lassa virus infection. A population-based model with gender-specific and special groups for people with hearing loss due to the disease is developed and analyzed. The model includes male-female and rodent-to-person modes of transmission and accounts for nonlinear saturation effects in disease spread. Empirical data are used to calibrate the model and identify key factors that significantly affect disease spread and disability. Five control interventions are proposed and evaluated to reduce person-to-person and rodent-to-human transmission, improve treatment and recovery and minimize disability progression. Numerical simulations demonstrate that timely, combined interventions can significantly reduce infection rates and the number of individuals who develop hearing loss. It emphasizes the interconnection between epidemic control and disability prevention, thereby providing a valuable framework for more holistic public health planning in endemic regions.