Traffic-driven SI epidemic spreading on scale-free networks

As COVID-19 spread globally in 2020, the interaction between the traffic dynamics and the spread of the epidemic has attracted much attention. However, controlling the spread of the epidemic remains a challenging issue. In this paper, we have investigated the relationships between link-closure strategies and the traffic-driven epidemic spreading. It is found that the epidemic spreading can be suppressed by the targeted closing of links between small-degree nodes. In contrast, closing links between large-degree nodes can accelerate the outbreak of the epidemic. These findings have significance for controlling the spread of the epidemic.