A game-theoretic approach to model the transmission of Chikungunya on Reunion Island.

Chikungunya is a viral infection that is spread by mosquitoes of the genus Aedes. Chikungunya victims experience symptoms similar to those caused by the Dengue and Zika viruses but are less likely to die from it. Chikungunya was not a major research interest up until 2004 when a third of the population on Reunion Island, located in Africa, was infected by the disease. This outbreak inspired the creation of mathematical models to study how Chikungunya is transmitted. Driven by these studies, we constructed a game-theoretic model that considers how rational individuals decide to use mosquito repellent to prevent the disease. In our model, individuals make their decision based on a payoff function that takes into account the consequences of being infected and the perceived cost of using mosquito repellent. We found that the usage of mosquito repellent is negatively correlated with the perceived cost of mosquito repellent while keeping the consequences of contracting the disease constant. However, setting the perceived cost of mosquito repellent to zero does not guarantee the eradication of Chikungunya. With this in mind, governments and disease control programs can better understand how to manage the transmission of this mosquito-borne disease.