ABSTRACT
Spatial spread of communicable diseases is closely related to the spatial heterogeneity of the environment and the spatial-temporal movement of the hosts. Mathematical modeling of disease spread normally starts with the consideration of the transmission dynamics within a population which is homogeneous in terms of host structures and environmental variation, and then follows by the examination of the impact on the transmission dynamics of the refined and detailed biological/epidemiological structures and patterns of spatial dispersal/diffusion of the hosts.
