SOME VECTOR BORNE DISEASES WITH STRUCTURED HOST POPULATIONS: EXTINCTION AND SPATIAL SPREAD.

We derive from a structured population model a system of delay differential equations describing the interaction of five subpopulations, namely susceptible and infected adult and juvenile reservoirs and infected adult vectors, for a vector borne disease with particular reference to West Nile virus, and we also incorporate spatial movements by considering the analogue reaction-diffusion systems with nonlocal delayed terms. Specific conditions for the disease eradication and sharp conditions for the local stability of the disease-free equilibrium are obtained using comparison techniques coupled with the spectral theory of monotone linear semiflows. A formal calculation of the minimal wave speed for the traveling waves is given and compared with field observation data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]