title: Epidemic threshold in structured scale-free networks.
abstract: We analyze the spreading of viruses in scale-free networks with high clustering and degree correlations, as found in the Internet graph. For the susceptible-infected-susceptible model of epidemics the prevalence undergoes a phase transition at a finite threshold of the transmission probability. Comparing with the absence of a finite threshold in networks with purely random wiring, our result suggests that high clustering (modularity) and degree correlations protect scale-free networks against the spreading of viruses. We introduce and verify a quantitative description of the epidemic threshold based on the connectivity of the neighborhoods of the hubs.
authors.affiliation: Instituto Mediterráneo de Estudios Avanzados IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB), E07071 Palma de Mallorca, Spain. victor@imedea.uib.es
authors.forename: Víctor M
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Eguíluz
authors.forename: Konstantin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Klemm
mesh_terms: D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D012919:Social Behavior