Modeling a Flu Epidemic at NMT
This is a group project I worked on in Mathematical Modeling Case Studies. We were given two weeks to complete this project.
Abstract
The flu has plagued the world for the past four centuries: infecting and even killing hundreds of thousands. The motivation for this project was to create a model of a flu virus specific to New Mexico Tech. The model is based on the standard Kermack-Mckendric Susceptible-Infected-Recovered (SIR) model. The SIR model was modified to account for flu shots and the resulting (impermanent) immunity. Research was conducted to estimate constants for use in the model which employ sinusoidal functions to vary both the infection and vaccination rates. The final model provides insight into the behavior of the seasonal flu at New Mexico Tech.