Social connectedness and disease spread?
An important area of complexity in the representation and modeling of infectious diseases relates to the contribution of social connectedness (via family ties, sexual partnerships, travel, or commercial activity) to disease spread.
Sexual network structures have been identified as a particularly important contributor to the ongoing endemnicity of theoretically eradicable diseases, such as syphilis, but these networks also provide a potential framework for innovative disease control strategies (e.g., via patient-delivered partner therapy for STDs).