We study a dynamical model of epidemic spreading on complex networks in which there are explicit correlations among the node’s connectivities. For the case of Markovian complex networks, showing only correlations between pairs of nodes, we find an epidemic threshold inversely proportional to the largest eigenvalue of the connectivity matrix that gives the average number of links, which from a node with connectivity k go to nodes with connectivity $k^{\prime }.$ Numerical simulations on a correlated growing network model provide support for our conclusions.

• Received 30 May 2002

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.66.047104