Dynamical interplay between awareness and epidemic spreading in multiplex networks

Phys Rev Lett. 2013 Sep 20;111(12):128701. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.111.128701. Epub 2013 Sep 17.

Abstract

We present the analysis of the interrelation between two processes accounting for the spreading of an epidemic, and the information awareness to prevent its infection, on top of multiplex networks. This scenario is representative of an epidemic process spreading on a network of persistent real contacts, and a cyclic information awareness process diffusing in the network of virtual social contacts between the same individuals. The topology corresponds to a multiplex network where two diffusive processes are interacting affecting each other. The analysis using a microscopic Markov chain approach reveals the phase diagram of the incidence of the epidemics and allows us to capture the evolution of the epidemic threshold depending on the topological structure of the multiplex and the interrelation with the awareness process. Interestingly, the critical point for the onset of the epidemics has a critical value (metacritical point) defined by the awareness dynamics and the topology of the virtual network, from which the onset increases and the epidemics incidence decreases.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Epidemics*
  • Epidemiologic Methods*
  • Humans
  • Infections / epidemiology
  • Information Dissemination*
  • Markov Chains
  • Models, Biological*
  • Models, Statistical*