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The Effect of Disease-Induced Mortality on Structural Network Properties
Lazaros K Gallos1, Nina H Fefferman1
1Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources, Rutgers University - New Brunswick, NJ 08901, United States of America; DIMACS, Rutgers University - Piscataway, NJ 08854, United States of America.
Plos One
|August 28, 2015
Summary
Disease spread dynamics are significantly influenced by how epidemics alter social contact networks. Network structure critically impacts disease outcomes, affecting both population-level results and individual disease burden.
Area of Science:
- Epidemiology
- Network Science
- Mathematical Biology
Background:
- Understanding infectious disease spread is crucial.
- Social contact networks play a key role in disease transmission.
- The feedback between disease dynamics and network structure is increasingly recognized.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically overview the interaction between epidemiological parameters and network topology on disease outcomes.
- To investigate how disease dynamics influence social network structure.
- To introduce a metric for disease-driven network damage.
Main Methods:
- Systematic review of epidemiological parameters and network topologies.
- Analysis of population-level disease outcomes.
- Introduction of a novel metric for network structural damage.
Main Results:
- Population-level disease outcomes are highly sensitive to the interplay of epidemiological parameters and network topology.
- Disease spread can cause significant structural damage to social networks.
- Individual disease burden is influenced by disease characteristics and network compromise.
Conclusions:
- The structure of social contact networks critically modulates disease spread and outcomes.
- A new metric quantifies disease-induced network damage.
- Findings have implications for predicting and mitigating disease outbreaks.
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