Effect of awareness programs by media on the epidemic outbreaks: A mathematical model

We propose and analyze a mathematical model to assess the effect of awareness programs by media on the prevalence of infectious diseases. Such programs may induce behavioral changes in the population, and divide the susceptible class into two subclasses with different infectivity rates. The biologically feasible equilibria and their stability properties are analyzed and discussed. The model analysis reveals that the rate of executing awareness programs has a substantial effect over the system and sustained oscillation may arise with increasing its value above a threshold. This threshold poses a challenge to control the epidemic. Numerical simulation also supports the analytical findings.