Highly dynamic animal contact network and implications on disease transmission

Chen, Shi; White, Brad J.; Sanderson, Michael W.; Amrine, David E.; Ilany, Amiyaal; Lanzas, Cristina

I nfectious individuals can contribute differently to new infections, and variation in contacts among hosts is one of the most important factors contributing to unequal pathogen transmission 1, 2 . Contact rates vary because of differences in individual traits, including individual behavior, as well as changes in the overall contact patterns along time and across space. Network theory has been extensively applied to understand and model contact patterns, and epidemiology is one of the most active areas in which network theory is applied 3 . Networks have been used extensively to describe the underlying contact patterns for sexually transmitted diseases and other directly transmitted diseases across large spatial scales. Recently, characterization of contact networks within community settings such as hospitals, schools, or households has been recognized as necessary to accurately predict transmission dynamics and identify interventions for diseases that require close contacts. Confined environments may have spatial ''hotspots'' for disease transmission, and defining the contact network is integral for effective control programs. Transmission in hospitals contributed approximately 50% of all secondary infections of severe acute respiratory syndrome in Hong Kong in 2003 4 , and transmission within schools fueled the fall 2009 wave of pandemic influenza H1N1 in the United States 5 . Technology advances, such as proximity loggers and radio-frequency identification devices, have facilitated the construction of high-resolution contact networks relevant to infectious diseases that require close contacts among hosts [6] [7] [8] . Analysis of generated contact networks have confirmed high contact rates in community settings, and provided insights into the network structure in these types of settings and their implication for disease transmission [6] [7] [8] [9] .