Epidemic modeling in complex realities

C R Biol. 2007 Apr;330(4):364-74. doi: 10.1016/j.crvi.2007.02.014. Epub 2007 Apr 6.

Abstract

In our global world, the increasing complexity of social relations and transport infrastructures are key factors in the spread of epidemics. In recent years, the increasing availability of computer power has enabled both to obtain reliable data allowing one to quantify the complexity of the networks on which epidemics may propagate and to envision computational tools able to tackle the analysis of such propagation phenomena. These advances have put in evidence the limits of homogeneous assumptions and simple spatial diffusion approaches, and stimulated the inclusion of complex features and heterogeneities relevant in the description of epidemic diffusion. In this paper, we review recent progresses that integrate complex systems and networks analysis with epidemic modelling and focus on the impact of the various complex features of real systems on the dynamics of epidemic spreading.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Epidemiology / statistics & numerical data*
  • Europe / epidemiology
  • Global Health
  • Humans
  • Plague / epidemiology
  • Plague / mortality
  • Population
  • Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome / epidemiology
  • Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus
  • Socioeconomic Factors
  • Travel