The impact of nodes of information dissemination on epidemic spreading in dynamic multiplex networks

TL;DR

This paper models epidemic spreading on dynamic multiplex networks, showing how awareness levels and individual centrality in the awareness layer influence disease transmission and thresholds.

Contribution

It introduces a two-layer network model incorporating awareness and disease spread, analyzing the impact of individual properties on epidemic dynamics.

Findings

High centrality in awareness layer inhibits disease transmission

Awareness layer lowers epidemic threshold

Low centrality individuals have an approximately linear effect on infections

Abstract

Epidemic spreading processes on dynamic multiplex networks provide a more accurate description of natural spreading processes than those on single layered networks. To describe the influence of different individuals in the awareness layer on epidemic spreading, we propose a two-layer network-based epidemic spreading model, including some individuals who neglect the epidemic, and we explore how individuals with different properties in the awareness layer will affect the spread of epidemics. The two-layer network model is divided into an information transmission layer and a disease spreading layer. Each node in the layer represents an individual with different connections in different layers. Individuals with awareness will be infected with a lower probability compared to unaware individuals, which corresponds to the various epidemic prevention measures in real life. We adopt the micro-Markov chain approach to analytically derive the threshold for the proposed epidemic model, which demonstrates that the awareness layer affects the threshold of disease spreading. We then explore how individuals with different properties would affect the disease spreading process through extensive Monte Carlo numerical simulations. We find that individuals with high centrality in the awareness layer would significantly inhibit the transmission of infectious diseases. Additionally, we propose conjectures and explanations for the approximately linear effect of individuals with low centrality in the awareness layer on the number of infected individuals.