Psychological effect can lead to bistability in epidemics

Abstract

In this paper, we study the psychological effect in a SIS epidemic model. The basic reproduction number is obtained. However, the disease free equilibrium is always asymptotically stable, which doesn't depends on the basic reproduction number. The system has a saddle-node bifurcation appear and displays bistable behavior, which is a new phenomenon in epidemic dynamics and different from the backward bifurcation behavior.