Efficient community-based control strategies in adaptive networks

TL;DR

This paper investigates how transient community structures in adaptive networks influence epidemic control strategies, revealing optimal timing and methods for immunization and quarantine to effectively delay outbreaks.

Contribution

It introduces a normalized modularity measure to analyze transient community evolution and compares the effectiveness of different community-based control strategies during epidemic spread.

Findings

Strong early-stage community structures delay epidemic outbreaks.

Optimal control occurs when measures are implemented during peak community strength.

Community-based quarantine outperforms immunization in controlling epidemics.

Abstract

Most researches on adaptive networks mainly concentrate on the properties of steady state, but neglect transient dynamics. In this study, we pay attention to the emergence of community structures in transient process and the effects of community-based control strategies on epidemic spreading. First, by normalizing modularity $Q$, we investigate the evolution of community structures during the transient process, and find that very strong community structures are induced by rewiring mechanism in the early stage of epidemic spreading, which remarkably delays the outbreaks of epidemic. Then we study the effects of control strategies started from different stages on the prevalence. Both immunization and quarantine strategies indicate that it is not "the earlier, the better" for the implementing of control measures. And the optimal control effect is obtained if control measures can be efficiently implemented in the period of strong community structure. For immunization strategy, immunizing the S nodes on SI links and immunizing S nodes randomly have similar control effects. Yet for quarantine strategy, quarantining the I nodes on SI links can yield far better effects than quarantining I nodes randomly. More significantly, community-based quarantine strategy plays more efficient performance than community-based immunization strategy. This study may shed new lights on the forecast and the prevention of epidemic among human population.