Sociomeeting: Interacting social and disease dynamics in multiplex networks

A major issue in the theoretical modeling of epidemic spreading is to investigate the effects of human social behavior in the propagation of a disease. In this work we explore the spreading of the awareness of a disease as a method to control a pandemic. We assume that aware individuals can take measures (isolation, quarantine) to reduce the risk of contagion. I will present results that show how the prevalence of the disease is affected by the relative speed between disease and information spreading, and by the rate of self-awareness. I will also show that the presence of individuals that do not spread information could lead to counterintuitive behavior. These results are obtained within a multiplex network framework in which the interaction between disease and awareness processes takes place in a bi-layer network.