1201.6339 (M. Dickison et al.)

Epidemics on Interconnected Networks    [PDF]

M. Dickison, S. Havlin, H. E. Stanley

Populations are seldom completely isolated from their environment.
Individuals in a particular geographic or social region may be considered a
distinct network due to strong local ties, but will also interact with
individuals in other networks. We study the susceptible-infected-recovered
(SIR) process on interconnected network systems, and find two distinct regimes.
In strongly-coupled network systems, epidemics occur simultaneously across the
entire system at a critical infection strength $\beta_c$, below which the
disease does not spread. In contrast, in weakly-coupled network systems, a
mixed phase exists below $\beta_c$ of the coupled network system, where an
epidemic occurs in one network but does not spread to the coupled network. We
derive an expression for the network and disease parameters that allow this
mixed phase and verify it numerically. Public health implications of
communities comprising these two classes of network systems are also mentioned.

View original: http://arxiv.org/abs/1201.6339