Epidemic spreading with awareness and different time scales in multiplex networks

One of the major issues in the theoretical modelling of epidemic spreading is the development of methods to control the transmission of an infectious agent. Human behaviour plays a fundamental role in the spreading dynamics and can be used to stop a disease from spreading or to reduce its burden, as individuals aware of the presence of a disease can take measures to reduce their exposure to contagion. In this paper, we propose a mathematical model for the spread of diseases with awareness in complex networks. Unlike previous models, the information is propagated following a generalized Maki-Thompson rumour model. Flexibility on the time scale between information and disease spreading is also included. We verify that the velocity characterizing the diffusion of information awareness greatly influences the disease prevalence. We also show that a reduction in the fraction of unaware individuals does not always imply a decrease of the prevalence, as the relative time scale between disease and awareness spreadings plays a crucial role in the systems' dynamics. Our results provide a new view on how information influence disease spreading and can be used for the development of more efficient methods for disease control.