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Networks and tuberculosis: an undetected community outbreak involving public places

Author

Listed:
  • Klovdahl, A. S.
  • Graviss, E. A.
  • Yaganehdoost, A.
  • Ross, M. W.
  • Wanger, A.
  • Adams, G. J.
  • Musser, J. M.

Abstract

After decades of decline in developed countries, there was a resurgence of tuberculosis in the mid-1980s accompanied by increased recognition that this infectious disease has long remained a major public health problem at the global level. New methods from molecular biology, in particular DNA 'fingerprinting' (of Mycobacterium tuberculosis), made it clear that current transmission and recent infection (in contrast to reactivation of earlier, latent infection) were much more significant than previously believed. Studies of tuberculosis outbreaks using these new tools pointed to complex networks through which infection was spreading and highlighted the need for new approaches to outbreak investigation and disease control. In the study reported here a new approach -- combining methods from molecular biology, epidemiology and network analysis -- was used to examine an outbreak of tuberculosis in Houston, Texas. Initial investigation using conventional strategies revealed few contacts among 37 patients with identical (six-band) DNA (IS6110-based) fingerprints but subsequent research uncovered over 40 places (including many gay bars) to which patients in this outbreak could be linked. Network methods were used to reconstruct an outbreak network and to quantify the relative importance (here, 'betweenness' centrality) of different actors (persons and places) playing a role in the outbreak. The multidisciplinary work provides the basis for a new approach to outbreak investigation and disease control.

Suggested Citation

  • Klovdahl, A. S. & Graviss, E. A. & Yaganehdoost, A. & Ross, M. W. & Wanger, A. & Adams, G. J. & Musser, J. M., 2001. "Networks and tuberculosis: an undetected community outbreak involving public places," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 52(5), pages 681-694, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:52:y:2001:i:5:p:681-694
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    Cited by:

    1. Yong Yang & Peter Atkinson, 2008. "Parameter exploration of the raster space activity bundle simulation," Journal of Geographical Systems, Springer, vol. 10(3), pages 263-289, September.
    2. Robyn Martin & Sahar D. Safaee & Khamphithoun Somsamouth & Boualoy Mounivong & Ryan Sinclair & Shweta Bansal & Pramil N. Singh, 2013. "Mixed Methods Pilot Study of Sharing Behaviors among Waterpipe Smokers of Rural Lao PDR: Implications for Infectious Disease Transmission," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-13, May.
    3. Milind Dawande & Vijay Mookerjee & Chelliah Sriskandarajah & Yunxia Zhu, 2012. "Structural Search and Optimization in Social Networks," INFORMS Journal on Computing, INFORMS, vol. 24(4), pages 611-623, November.
    4. Brandon W Higgs & Mojdeh Mohtashemi & Jennifer Grinsdale & L Masae Kawamura, 2007. "Early Detection of Tuberculosis Outbreaks among the San Francisco Homeless: Trade-Offs Between Spatial Resolution and Temporal Scale," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 2(12), pages 1-9, December.
    5. Wanyeki, Ian & Olson, Sherry & Brassard, Paul & Menzies, Dick & Ross, Nancy & Behr, Marcel & Schwartzman, Kevin, 2006. "Dwellings, crowding, and tuberculosis in Montreal," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 63(2), pages 501-511, July.
    6. Yi-Da Chen & Susan A. Brown & Paul Jen-Hwa Hu & Chwan-Chuen King & Hsinchun Chen, 2011. "Managing Emerging Infectious Diseases with Information Systems: Reconceptualizing Outbreak Management Through the Lens of Loose Coupling," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 22(3), pages 447-468, September.
    7. Lawrence, Jody & Kearns, Robin A. & Park, Julie & Bryder, Linda & Worth, Heather, 2008. "Discourses of disease: Representations of tuberculosis within New Zealand newspapers 2002-2004," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 66(3), pages 727-739, February.

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