Epidemiological Models Incorporating Mobility, Behavior, and Time Scales

The work of Eubank et al., Sara del Valle et al., Chowell et al., and Castillo-Chavez and Song have highlighted the impact of modified modeling approaches that incorporate heterogeneous modes of mobility within variable environments in order to study their impact on the dynamics of infectious diseases. Castillo-Chavez and Song, for example, proceeded to highlight a Lagrangian perspective, that is, the use of models that keep track at all times of the identity of each individual. This approach was used to study the consequences of deliberate efforts to transmit smallpox in a highly populated city, involving transient sub-populations and the availability of massive modes of public transportation.