{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,29]],"date-time":"2026-08-29T00:29:06Z","timestamp":1787963346649,"version":"build-2784847793"},"reference-count":52,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,18]],"date-time":"2025-06-18T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1750204800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS One"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Malaria remains a significant global health challenge, particularly in developing countries. This study introduces a novel ABC fractional-order model to analyze malaria transmission dynamics, incorporating treatment-seeking behavior, which includes both treatment at professional health facilities and interventions through indigenous traditional medicine. We conducted a comprehensive analysis of the model, examining the existence and uniqueness of solutions and performing numerical simulations using various mathematical techniques. Our findings reveal that fractional-order effects significantly influence malaria transmission dynamics; specifically, higher fractional orders result in slower increases in susceptible and exposed human populations while leading to more rapid changes in the dynamics of infected populations. Furthermore, the model demonstrates that increasing the rate of treatment at health facilities can substantially reduce the infected population and decrease the reproduction number, thereby facilitating the elimination of the disease within a shorter time frame. Additionally, the study highlights that reliance on traditional medicine without clinical validation may lead to temporary recovery but not complete elimination of the malaria parasite, increasing the risk of relapse and further disease spread. The finding suggests that public health initiatives should encourage collaboration between traditional medicine practitioners and professional healthcare providers to reduce non-standardized treatment risks and improve the effectiveness of malaria management strategies. These contribute to the broader field of epidemiological modeling, offering a robust framework for understanding and mitigating malaria transmission in resource-limited settings.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0319166","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,18]],"date-time":"2025-06-18T18:04:16Z","timestamp":1750269856000},"page":"e0319166","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":9,"title":["A novel ABC fractional-order mathematical model for malaria transmission dynamics incorporating treatment-seeking behavior"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"20","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0003-1723-8592","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Sisay Fikadu","family":"Jaleta","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1889-4690","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Gemechis File","family":"Duressa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Chernet Tuge","family":"Deressa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,18]]},"reference":[{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0319166.ref001","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1186\/s40101-020-00251-9","article-title":"Plasmodium-a brief introduction to the parasites causing human malaria and their basic biology","volume":"40","author":"S Sato","year":"2021","journal-title":"J Physiol Anthropol"},{"key":"pone.0319166.ref002","article-title":"World malaria report 2023","author":"World Health Organization","year":"2023","journal-title":"World Health Organization"},{"key":"pone.0319166.ref003","first-page":"123","article-title":"Malaria and HIV coinfection in sub-Saharan Africa: prevalence, impact, and treatment strategies","volume":"9","author":"TE Kwenti","year":"2018","journal-title":"Res Rep Trop Med"},{"issue":"4","key":"pone.0319166.ref004","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"857","DOI":"10.1007\/s00285-018-1229-7","article-title":"Mathematical modeling of climate change and malaria transmission dynamics: a historical review","volume":"77","author":"SE Eikenberry","year":"2018","journal-title":"J Math Biol"},{"key":"pone.0319166.ref005","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"283","DOI":"10.1016\/j.aej.2024.03.059","article-title":"A review of fractional order epidemic models for life sciences problems: Past, present and future","volume":"95","author":"KS Nisar","year":"2024","journal-title":"Alexandria Eng J"},{"key":"pone.0319166.ref006","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"688","DOI":"10.1016\/j.physa.2018.03.056","article-title":"Non validity of index law in fractional calculus: A fractional differential operator with Markovian and non-Markovian properties","volume":"505","author":"A Atangana","year":"2018","journal-title":"Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications"},{"key":"pone.0319166.ref007","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"127","DOI":"10.1016\/j.chaos.2018.08.022","article-title":"Analysis and numerical simulation of multicomponent system with Atangana\u2013Baleanu fractional derivative","volume":"115","author":"KM Owolabi","year":"2018","journal-title":"Chaos Solitons Fractals"},{"key":"pone.0319166.ref008","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"112990","DOI":"10.1016\/j.chaos.2022.112990","article-title":"Stability analysis and system properties of Nipah virus transmission: A fractional calculus case study","volume":"166","author":"D Baleanu","year":"2023","journal-title":"Chaos Solitons Fractals"},{"key":"pone.0319166.ref009","first-page":"03408","article-title":"New fractional derivatives with nonlocal and non-singular kernel: theory and application to heat transfer model","volume":"1602","author":"A Atangana","year":"2016","journal-title":"arXiv Preprint"},{"key":"pone.0319166.ref010","unstructured":"Defterli O, Baleanu D, Jajarmi A, Sajjadi SS, Alshaikh N, Asad JH. 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