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A model of tuberculosis clustering in low incidence countries reveals more transmission in the United Kingdom than the Netherlands between 2010 and 2015

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  • Ellen Brooks-Pollock
  • Leon Danon
  • Hester Korthals Altes
  • Jennifer A Davidson
  • Andrew M T Pollock
  • Dick van Soolingen
  • Colin Campbell
  • Maeve K Lalor

Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB) remains a public health threat in low TB incidence countries, through a combination of reactivated disease and onward transmission. Using surveillance data from the United Kingdom (UK) and the Netherlands (NL), we demonstrate a simple and predictable relationship between the probability of observing a cluster and its size (the number of cases with a single genotype). We demonstrate that the full range of observed cluster sizes can be described using a modified branching process model with the individual reproduction number following a Poisson lognormal distribution. We estimate that, on average, between 2010 and 2015, a TB case generated 0.41 (95% CrI 0.30,0.60) secondary cases in the UK, and 0.24 (0.14,0.48) secondary cases in the NL. A majority of cases did not generate any secondary cases. Recent transmission accounted for 39% (26%,60%) of UK cases and 23%(13%,37%) of NL cases. We predict that reducing UK transmission rates to those observed in the NL would result in 538(266,818) fewer cases annually in the UK. In conclusion, while TB in low incidence countries is strongly associated with reactivated infections, we demonstrate that recent transmission remains sufficient to warrant policies aimed at limiting local TB spread.Author summary: Multiple tuberculosis (TB) cases infected with a single strain are known as a TB cluster. In the United Kingdom (UK) for example, TB clusters vary in size from two cases up to over 200 cases. Previous work on cluster sizes demonstrated that highly infectious individuals influence cluster size, but the analysis did not include the largest clusters. Here, we show that the chance of observing a cluster of a given size follows the same pattern in the UK and the NL. Using a new mathematical description of how clusters are formed, we are able to predict the chance of observing the full range of cluster sizes. Using the model, we estimate how many cases are due to recent transmission and how many other cases each case generates. Although we estimate that a minority of cases (39% (26%,60%) in the UK) are due to recent in-country transmission, we find that reducing the onward transmission in the UK to levels in the NL would result in 538 (266,818) fewer cases annually in the UK.

Suggested Citation

  • Ellen Brooks-Pollock & Leon Danon & Hester Korthals Altes & Jennifer A Davidson & Andrew M T Pollock & Dick van Soolingen & Colin Campbell & Maeve K Lalor, 2020. "A model of tuberculosis clustering in low incidence countries reveals more transmission in the United Kingdom than the Netherlands between 2010 and 2015," PLOS Computational Biology, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(3), pages 1-14, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pcbi00:1007687
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1007687
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Ellen Brooks-Pollock & Gareth O. Roberts & Matt J. Keeling, 2014. "A dynamic model of bovine tuberculosis spread and control in Great Britain," Nature, Nature, vol. 511(7508), pages 228-231, July.
    2. Gillespie, Colin S., 2015. "Fitting Heavy Tailed Distributions: The poweRlaw Package," Journal of Statistical Software, Foundation for Open Access Statistics, vol. 64(i02).
    3. J. O. Lloyd-Smith & S. J. Schreiber & P. E. Kopp & W. M. Getz, 2005. "Superspreading and the effect of individual variation on disease emergence," Nature, Nature, vol. 438(7066), pages 355-359, November.
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