A SIS reaction–diffusion–advection model in a low-risk and high-risk domain

A simplified SIS model is proposed and investigated to understand the impact of spatial heterogeneity of environment and advection on the persistence and eradication of an infectious disease. The free boundary is introduced to model the spreading front of the disease. The basic reproduction number associated with the diseases in the spatial setting is introduced. Sufficient conditions for the disease to be eradicated or to spread are given. Our result shows that if the spreading domain is high-risk at some time, the disease will continue to spread till the whole area is infected; while if the spreading domain is low-risk, the disease may be vanishing or keep spreading depending on the expanding capability and the initial number of the infective individuals. The spreading speeds are also given when spreading happens, numerical simulations are presented to illustrate the impacts of the advection and the expanding capability on the spreading fronts.