Ricerc@Sapienza

The hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection represents
a global health problem; it can be transmitted through contact
with infected blood or other body fluids and it is dangerous
being highly contagious. Hepatitis B is preventable with effective
vaccine, as it is strongly recommended by the World
Health Organization; its protection is possibly life-long, at least
20 years. Mathematical modelling is a useful tool to study the
evolution of an epidemic spread and possibly to suggest suitable
control strategies, aiming at the best resource allocation while
satisfying the obvious limitations, both from economics and
practical points of view. In this paper, a recently proposed model
describing the HBV infection is adopted and optimal control
strategies are discussed; it is enhanced the dependence of the
result on the preliminary choice of the cost index, suggesting
a rationale in the determination of the weights of the elements
to be minimized.