Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: We introduce the generalized diffusive epidemic process, which is a metapopulation model for an epidemic outbreak where a non-sedentary population of walkers can jump along lattice edges with diffusion probabilities D S or D I if they are susceptible or infected, respectively, and recovered individuals possess permanent immunity. Individuals can be contaminated with probability μ c if they share the same lattice node with at least one infected individual and recover with probability μ r , being removed from the dynamics. Therefore, the model does not have the conservation of the active particles composed of susceptible and infected individuals. The reaction-diffusion dynamics are separated into two stages: (i) Brownian diffusion, where the particles can jump to the neighboring nodes, and (ii) contamination and recovery reactions. The dynamics are mapped into a growing process by activating lattice nodes with successful contaminations where activated nodes are interpreted as infection sources. In all simulations, the epidemic starts with one infected individual in a lattice filled with susceptibles. Our results indicate a phase transition in the dynamical percolation universality class controlled by the population size, irrespective of diffusion probabilities D S and D I and a subexponential (power-law) growth of the epidemics in the percolation threshold.
Authors: V R Carvalho, T F A Alves, G A Alves, D S M Alencar, F W S Lima, A Macedo-Filho, R S Ferreira
Language: English
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W4406224303