The spread of awareness and its impact on epidemic outbreaks

Royal Holloway University of London

PubMed
Indexed incrossrefpubmed

Abstract

When a disease breaks out in a human population, changes in behavior in response to the outbreak can alter the progression of the infectious agent. In particular, people aware of a disease in their proximity can take measures to reduce their susceptibility. Even if no centralized information is provided about the presence of a disease, such awareness can arise through first-hand observation and word of mouth. To understand the effects this can have on the spread of a disease, we formulate and analyze a mathematical model for the spread of awareness in a host population, and then link this to an epidemiological model by having more informed hosts reduce their susceptibility. We find that, in a well-mixed…

Citation impact

1,141
total citations
FWCI
19.98
Percentile
100%
References
36
Citations per year

Authors

4

Topics & keywords

Keywords
  • Outbreak
  • Disease
  • Population
  • Infectious disease (medical specialty)
  • Susceptible individual
  • Epidemic model
  • Computer science
  • Environmental health
UN Sustainable Development Goals
  • Good health and well-being
No related works found for this paper.

Funding