Hand-hygiene mitigation strategies against global disease spreading through the air transportation network

Christos Nicolaides; Demetris Avraam; Luis Cueto-Felgueroso; Marta C. González; Ruben Juanes

Our current analysis has some limitations, which can be addressed in the future. A first limitation is the use of the simple SIR reaction kinetics while a more complicated model, like the SEIR, will provide inferences on the impact of hand washing behavior among the individuals exposed to the disease on the expansion of epidemics. A second limitation is that we use data from the air transportation system as a proxy for human mobility. A complete analysis should focus on the spread of infections through a more realistic human mobility network that includes daily commuting patterns and travel through other means of transportation. A third limitation is the assumption of a homogeneous hand-hygiene behavior of air travelers, as we do not know the actual hand washing activity that varies between individuals within a local population and between individuals from different societies and cultures. Future research can be designed to understand the human hand-washing behavior and provide insights on what and how social effects can change it.