Influence of Network Topology and Vaccination Strategies on HPV Dynamics: A Simulation Study Using the SeCoNet Growth Model

TL;DR

This study uses the SeCoNet model to analyze how contact network structures and vaccination strategies impact HPV transmission, revealing that network topology significantly influences vaccination effectiveness and outcomes.

Contribution

It introduces a simulation framework that evaluates various vaccination strategies considering network topology, providing insights for optimizing HPV vaccination programs.

Findings

Degree, betweenness, and percolation centrality strategies are most effective.

Ring vaccination reduces female cumulative incidence most effectively.

Network properties like average degree and clustering affect vaccination success.

Abstract

This study examines how contact network topology influences the effectiveness of vaccination programs in the context of human papillomavirus (HPV) transmission. Using the SeCoNet sexual contact network growth model, we evaluate age based, ring based, and several centrality based vaccination strategies across the overall, male, and female cohorts, focusing on peak incidence, timing of peak prevalence, and cumulative incidence. The simulations show that degree, betweenness, and percolation centrality based strategies are generally the most effective, while ring vaccination achieves the greatest reduction in cumulative incidence among females. Network topology also plays a critical role: higher average degree reduces vaccination effectiveness, whereas higher power-law exponent, longer average shortest path length, and stronger clustering improve vaccination outcomes. The results highlight the importance of incorporating network structure into the design of HPV vaccination programs.