Basic Reproduction Numbers for Reaction-Diffusion Epidemic Models

The theory of the principal eigenvalue is developed for an elliptic eigenvalue problem associated with a linear parabolic cooperative system with some zero diffusion coefficients. Then the basic reproduction number and its computation formulae are established for reaction-diffusion epidemic models with compartmental structure. These theoretical results are applied to a spatial model of rabies to study the influence of spatial heterogeneity and population mobility on disease transmission.