Skip to main content



Using game theory to minimize disease outbreak

The article discusses how game theory can be used to prevent the outbreak of disease. This discussion was sparked by a recent event where passengers on a flight from Dubai to New York became ill after being contained in a plane for several hours. For many people, the initial simple solution to preventing the spread of such disease is to minimize travel. However, the article uses game theory to explain how grounding planes is not the best strategy according to game theory and can even exacerbate the spread of illness. Game theory shows how the best strategy for an individual may conflict with the interest of the larger population. For instance, because vaccinations have negative side effects, individuals may choose not to receive vaccination when everyone else in the population gets vaccinated. However, if everyone thought this way, then no one will be protected. The outcome of an outbreak can be determined by how individuals react to each other and how the risk of an illness is perceived by individuals and by the group as a whole.

The underpinning of illness outbreak is an example of the types of game theory discussed in Networks. The concept of Nash equilibrium discussed in class can be applied to this examples as well: individuals reach a Nash equilibrium when changing their decision wouldn’t improve their health standing assuming that everyone else maintains the same strategy. Through game theory, researchers can attempt to determine what is each individual’s Nash equilibrium and whether or not their optimal strategy goes against the best interest of the population. Then, the government and policy can step in to prevent individuals from exercising said strategies and minimize the consequences of an outbreak.

Link to article: https://phys.org/news/2018-09-game-theory-disease-outbreaks.html

Comments

Leave a Reply

Blogging Calendar

September 2018
M T W T F S S
 12
3456789
10111213141516
17181920212223
24252627282930

Archives