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In a city of half a million, there are initially 800 cases of a particularly virulent strain of flu. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta claims that the cumulative number of infections of this flu strain will increase by \(40 \%\) per week if there are no limiting factors. Make a logistic model of the potential cumulative number of cases of flu as a function of weeks from initial outbreak, and determine how long it will be before 100,000 people are infected.

Short Answer

Expert verified
About 17.7 weeks.

Step by step solution

01

Understanding the Logistic Growth Model

The logistic growth model is defined by the equation \( C(t) = \frac{L}{1 + be^{-kt}} \), where \( C(t) \) is the cumulative number of cases at time \( t \), \( L \) is the carrying capacity of the environment, \( k \) is the growth rate, and \( b \) is a constant determined by initial conditions. In this problem, \( L = 500,000 \), since that's the total population.
02

Finding the Growth Rate

The initial number of cases, \( C(0) \), is 800, and the weekly growth rate is 40\%. To turn this percentage into the growth rate \( k \), we must convert it into a continuous growth factor using the formula \( k \approx \ln(1.4) \approx 0.3365 \).
03

Determine the Constant b

Use the initial condition to find \( b \). We know \( C(0) = 800 = \frac{500,000}{1 + b} \). By solving this equation for \( b \), we find that \( 1 + b = \frac{500,000}{800} = 625 \). Therefore, \( b = 624 \).
04

Setting Up the Logistic Function

The logistic model becomes: \( C(t) = \frac{500,000}{1 + 624e^{-0.3365t}} \). This represents the potential cumulative number of flu cases over time.
05

Solving for 100,000 Infections

Set \( C(t) = 100,000 \) and solve for \( t \). Substituting gives \( 100,000 = \frac{500,000}{1 + 624e^{-0.3365t}} \). Rearranging gives \( 1 + 624e^{-0.3365t} = 5 \), leading to \( 624e^{-0.3365t} = 4 \). Solving for \( t \), we find \( e^{-0.3365t} = \frac{4}{624} = \frac{1}{156} \). Taking the natural logarithm, \( -0.3365t = \ln\left(\frac{1}{156}\right) \). Thus, \( t = \frac{-\ln\left(\frac{1}{156}\right)}{0.3365} \approx 17.68 \) weeks.

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Key Concepts

These are the key concepts you need to understand to accurately answer the question.

Carrying Capacity
In the context of the logistic growth model, carrying capacity, often denoted as \( L \), refers to the maximum population size that a particular environment can support. This is an important concept in understanding how populations grow and eventually stabilize. For our problem involving the flu in a city of half a million people:
  • The city's total population is 500,000.
  • This entire population represents the carrying capacity, \( L = 500,000 \), assuming that everyone could potentially be infected.
Carrying capacity does not mean that everyone will be infected, but it sets the upper limit on the potential size of the outbreak in the absence of interventions. Over time, as infections approach this ceiling, the growth rate of new flu cases will naturally slow down, even without intentional control measures.
Growth Rate
The growth rate in the logistic growth model is crucial for understanding how quickly the number of cases increases. It is often denoted by \( k \) and represents the continuous growth. Unlike a simple percentage increase, continuous growth accounts for compound effects over time.In our scenario:
  • The weekly growth rate is given as 40%.
  • To apply it in a continuous model, we use the natural logarithm: \( k = \ln(1.4) \approx 0.3365 \).
This transformation is necessary because the logistic growth equation requires \( k \) in terms of time's continuous effect. The chosen growth rate helps in setting up the logistic equation to model the outbreak properly over the weeks.
Continuous Growth
Continuous growth captures the idea of exponential increases in a population or infection cases, where each increment of time sees the current amount added to. This contrasts with simple periodic growth, where increases are at fixed amounts or percentages.For the flu outbreak:
  • Continuous growth means the infection rate compounds weekly.
  • The formula \( e^{-kt} \), used in our logistic equation, is key in adjusting for how continuous growth affects population increase.
    • This aspect of a logistic model allows us to predict accurately how fast the infection spreads over time, considering the compounded nature of epidemic data. It more closely mirrors real-world scenarios than simple percentage calculations.
Logistic Function
The logistic function is the mathematical model that integrates the concepts of carrying capacity, growth rate, and continuous growth into a comprehensive formula used to predict population dynamics under constraints.In our flu outbreak example:
  • The logistic function is given by: \[ C(t) = \frac{L}{1 + be^{-kt}} \]
  • Here, \( L \) is the carrying capacity, \( b \) is determined by initial conditions, and \( k \) is the growth rate.
  • Specific to this scenario, the initial setup provided a formula: \( C(t) = \frac{500,000}{1 + 624e^{-0.3365t}} \)
This function shows how the number of flu cases progresses over time, accounting for both the initial rapid spread and the eventual slowdown as the carrying capacity is approached. Using this model, we accurately determined that it takes about 17.68 weeks for the infection count to reach 100,000 under specified conditions.

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