Control of Traffic Driven Epidemics in Weighted Networks by Immunizing Edges

Many immunization strategies have been proposed to control the epidemic spreading which mainly focus on how to immunize the nodes. A novel and efficient strategy to control the traffic driven epidemic spreading in weighted networks is proposed in this paper. By immunizing the edges according to different weights, our control strategies cannot only reduce the epidemic spreading velocity and enhance the critical epidemic threshold, but also maintain the integrity of the weighted networks. Simulations show that the control strategy by immunizing edges according to the product of the strengths of two nodes of the edge proved to be more efficient.