Front propagation in a system of weakly connected networks

A metapopulation consists of a group of spatially distanced subpopulations, each occupying a separate patch. It is usually assumed that each localized patch is well-mixed. In this talk, we will discuss a model for the spread of an epidemic in a system of weakly connected patches, where the disease dynamics of each patch occurs on a network. The SIR dynamics in a single patch is governed by the rate of disease transmission, the disease duration, and the node degree distribution of a network. Monte-Carlo simulations of the model reveal the phenomenon of spatial disease propagation. The speed of front propagation and its dependence on the single patch parameters and on the strength of interaction between the patches was determined analytically, and a good agreement with simulation results was observed.