RIS ID
117386
Abstract
We provide a qualitative analysis of a system of nonlinear differential equations that model the spread of alcoholism through a population. Alcoholism is viewed as an infectious disease and the model treats it within a sir framework. The model exhibits two generic types of steady-state diagram. The first of these is qualitatively the same as the steady-state diagram in the standard sir model. The second exhibits a backwards transcritical bifurcation. As a consequence of this, there is a region of bistability in which a population of problem drinkers can be sustained, even when the reproduction number is less than one. We obtain a succinct formula for this scenario when the transition between these two cases occurs.
Publication Details
Nelson, M. Ian., Hagedoorn, P. & Worthy, A. L. (2017). The Demon Drink. Australia and New Zealand Industrial and Applied Mathematics (ANZIAM) Journal, 59 (2), 135-154.