Societal self-regulation induces complex infection dynamics and chaos

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Wagner, Joel, Bauer, Simon, Contreras, Sebastian, Fleddermann, Luk, Parlitz, Ulrich, Priesemann, Viola
Format: Preprint
Published: 2023
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_version_ 1866909567607111680
author Wagner, Joel
Bauer, Simon
Contreras, Sebastian
Fleddermann, Luk
Parlitz, Ulrich
Priesemann, Viola
author_facet Wagner, Joel
Bauer, Simon
Contreras, Sebastian
Fleddermann, Luk
Parlitz, Ulrich
Priesemann, Viola
contents Classically, endemic infectious diseases are expected to display relatively stable, predictable infection dynamics. Accordingly, basic disease models such as the susceptible-infected-recovered-susceptible model display stable endemic states or recurrent seasonal waves. However, if the human population reacts to high infection numbers by mitigating the spread of the disease, then this delayed behavioral feedback loop can generate infection waves itself, driven by periodic mitigation and subsequent relaxation. We show that such behavioral reactions, together with a seasonal effect of comparable impact, can cause complex and unpredictable infection dynamics, including Arnold tongues, coexisting attractors, and chaos. Importantly, these arise in epidemiologically relevant parameter regions where the costs associated to infections and mitigation are jointly minimized. By comparing our model to data, we find signs that COVID-19 was mitigated in a way that favored complex infection dynamics. Our results challenge the intuition that endemic disease dynamics necessarily implies predictability and seasonal waves and show the emergence of complex infection dynamics when humans optimize their reaction to increasing infection numbers.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2305_15427
institution arXiv
publishDate 2023
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Societal self-regulation induces complex infection dynamics and chaos
Wagner, Joel
Bauer, Simon
Contreras, Sebastian
Fleddermann, Luk
Parlitz, Ulrich
Priesemann, Viola
Physics and Society
Dynamical Systems
Populations and Evolution
Classically, endemic infectious diseases are expected to display relatively stable, predictable infection dynamics. Accordingly, basic disease models such as the susceptible-infected-recovered-susceptible model display stable endemic states or recurrent seasonal waves. However, if the human population reacts to high infection numbers by mitigating the spread of the disease, then this delayed behavioral feedback loop can generate infection waves itself, driven by periodic mitigation and subsequent relaxation. We show that such behavioral reactions, together with a seasonal effect of comparable impact, can cause complex and unpredictable infection dynamics, including Arnold tongues, coexisting attractors, and chaos. Importantly, these arise in epidemiologically relevant parameter regions where the costs associated to infections and mitigation are jointly minimized. By comparing our model to data, we find signs that COVID-19 was mitigated in a way that favored complex infection dynamics. Our results challenge the intuition that endemic disease dynamics necessarily implies predictability and seasonal waves and show the emergence of complex infection dynamics when humans optimize their reaction to increasing infection numbers.
title Societal self-regulation induces complex infection dynamics and chaos
topic Physics and Society
Dynamical Systems
Populations and Evolution
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2305.15427