  A generalized model of the spread of the Hantavirus in mice populations is
presented on the basis of recent observational findings concerning the movement
characteristics of the mice that carry the infection. The factual information
behind the generalization is based on mark-recapture observations reported in
Giuggioli et al. [Bull. Math. Biol. 67, 1135 (2005)] that have necessitated the
introduction of home ranges in the simple model of Hantavirus spread presented
by Abramson and Kenkre [Phys. Rev. E 66, 11912 (2002)]. The essential feature
of the model presented here is the existence of adult mice that remain largely
confined to locations near their home ranges, and itinerant juvenile mice that
are not so confined, and, during their search for their own homes, move and
infect both other juveniles and adults that they meet during their movement.
The model is presented at three levels of description: mean field, kinetic and
configuration. Results of calculations are shown explicitly from the mean field
equations and the simulation rules, and are found to agree in some respects and
to differ in others. The origin of the differences is shown to lie in spatial
correlations. It is indicated how mark-recapture observations in the field may
be employed to verify the applicability of the theory.
