Mathematical Models of Schistosomiasis: Report of a Workshop

Abstract

A workshop on mathematical models of schistosomiasis was convened by The Edna McConnell Clark Foundation from 9 to 14 May 1976, at the Rockefeller Foundation's Villa Serbelloni Study and Conference Center in Bellagio, Italy. The meeting was remarkable as the first conference devoted entirely to mathematical models of a single infectious disease. It was further remarkable in successfully bringing together 19 specialists from seven countries representing very different disciplines—medicine, epidemiology, public health, sanitary engineering, parasitology, malacology, mathematics, statistics, and economics—all of whom shared a common interest: the application of mathematical models to research on, and control of, schistosomiasis. The 4 days of plenary sessions began with a review of published and unpublished work, moved on to a detailed discussion of the biology of schistosomiasis and of the relationship of various models to current biological knowledge, and concluded with a discussion of major gaps in our quantitative understanding of this important infectious disease.