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Canadian Journal of Public Health = Revue Canadienne de Santé Publique logoLink to Canadian Journal of Public Health = Revue Canadienne de Santé Publique
. 1997 Jul 1;88(4):255–265. doi: 10.1007/BF03404793

Mathematical Models of Disease Transmission: A Precious Tool for the Study of Sexually Transmitted Diseases

Marie-Claude Boily 110,210,✉, Benoît Mâsse 110,210
PMCID: PMC6990198  PMID: 9336095

Abstract

This paper is an introduction to the mathematical epidemiology of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and its application to public health. After a brief introduction to transmission dynamics models, the construction of a deterministic compartmental mathematical model of HIV transmission in a population is described. As a background to STD transmission dynamics, basic reproductive rate, inter-group mixing, rate of partner change, and duration of infectivity are discussed. Use of the models illustrates the effect of sexual mixing (proportionate to highly assortative), of preventive intervention campaigns, and of HIV-chlamydia interaction on HIV prevalence in the different population groups. In particular, planned prevention campaigns can benefit the targeted intervention group but surprisingly can be disadvantageous for the general population. Through examples, mathematical models are shown to be helpful in our understanding of disease transmission, in interpretation of observed trends, in planning of prevention strategies, and in guiding data collection.

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