Epidemic outbreaks in structured host populations

Abstract

For a heterogeneous host population, the basic reproduction number of an infectious disease, $\cR_0$, is defined as the spectral radius of the next generation operator (NGO). The threshold properties of the basic reproduction number are typically established by imposing conditions that make $\cR_0$ an eigenvalue of the NGO associated with a positive eigenvector and a positive eigenfunctional (eigenvector of the dual of the NGO). More general results can be obtained by imposing conditions that associate $\cR_0$ just with a positive eigenfunctional. The next generation operator is conveniently expressed by a measure kernel or a Feller kernel which enables the use of analytic rather than functional analytic methods.