Low K-Shells Identify Bridge Elements Critical to Disease Flow in Small-World Networks

Targeted vaccination of individuals with high degree or centrality has been shown to be an effective strategy in scale-free networks. Small-world networks, however, are characterized by homogenous degree and centrality distributions, making it less obvious which individuals should be targeted. Under the assumption that nodes with low k-shell index serve as bridge elements, we confirm via simulation that an acquaintance-based vaccination strategy based on low k-shell individuals can efficiently control disease in small world networks.