The effect of network mixing patterns on epidemic dynamics and the efficacy of disease contact tracing.

ABSTRACT: In networks, nodes may preferentially contact other nodes with similar (assortatively mixed) or dissimilar (disassortatively mixed) numbers of contacts. Different patterns of contact support different epidemic dynamics, potentially affecting the efficacy of control measures such as contact tracing, which aims to identify and isolate nodes with infectious contacts. We used stochastic simulations to investigate the effects of mixing patterns on epidemic dynamics and contact-tracing efficacy. For uncontrolled epidemics, outbreaks occur at lower infection rates for more assortatively mixed networks, with faster initial epidemic growth rate and shorter epidemic duration than for disassortatively mixed networks. Contact tracing performs better for assortative mixing where epidemic size is large

SUBMITTER: Kiss IZ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2386895 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature