Do multiple connections between nodes change how epidemics spread?

Researchers compared epidemic spreading on multigraphs—networks where two nodes can have multiple links—against standard simple graphs with identical degree distributions. They found differences only when disease can persist indefinitely on isolated hub nodes; otherwise, the epidemic dynamics are nearly identical. This matters because multigraphs sidestep computational headaches that plague large simulations of scale-free networks, opening the door to studying realistic disease and information dynamics at scale.