Global Connectivity and the Spread of Infectious Diseases

The spread of infectious diseases has become a global concern. In light of the recent outbreaks of Zika in South America and MERS in the Middle East as well as the 2013 Ebola crisis, researchers are developing a range of methods and strategies to mitigate disease spread. One of the key challenges is to understand the key features that shape patterns of global disease spread. The complexity and redundancy of global transport networks suggests that the systematic identification of hidden patterns in spatially incoherent disease dynamics is next to impossible. Here, we will discuss how the concept of effective distance, as a replacement for conventional geographical distance, helps us understand global disease dynamics and how it can be employed as a new technique for developing predictive tools and means for testing effective containment strategies