IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/aph/ajpbhl/10.2105-ajph.2005.071936_1.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Transmission network analysis to complement routine tuberculosis contact investigations

Author

Listed:
  • Andre, M.
  • Ijaz, K.
  • Tillinghast, J.D.
  • Krebs, V.E.
  • Diem, L.A.
  • Metchock, B.
  • Crisp, T.
  • McElroy, P.D.

Abstract

Objective. We examined the feasibility and value of network analysis to complement routine tuberculosis (TB) contact investigation procedures during an outbreak. Methods. We reviewed hospital, health department, and jail records and interviewed TB patients. Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates were genotyped. We evaluated contacts of TB patients for latent TB infection (LTBI) and TB, and analyzed routine contact investigation data, including tuberculin skin test (TST) results. Outcomes included number of contacts identified, number of contacts evaluated, and their TST status. We used network analysis visualizations and metrics (reach, degree, betweenness) to characterize the outbreak. Results. The index patient was symptomatic for 8 months and was linked to 37 secondary TB patients and more than 1200 contacts. Genotyping detected a 21-band pattern of a strain W variant. No HIV-infected patients were diagnosed. Contacts prioritized by network analysis were more likely to have LTBI than nonprioritized contacts (odds ratio = 7.8; 95% confidence interval = 1.6, 36.6). Network visualizations and metrics highlighted patients central to sustaining the outbreak and helped prioritize contacts for evaluation. Conclusions. A network-informed approach to TB contact investigations provided a novel means to examine large quantities of data and helped focus TB control.

Suggested Citation

  • Andre, M. & Ijaz, K. & Tillinghast, J.D. & Krebs, V.E. & Diem, L.A. & Metchock, B. & Crisp, T. & McElroy, P.D., 2007. "Transmission network analysis to complement routine tuberculosis contact investigations," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 97(3), pages 470-477.
    • Handle: RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:10.2105/ajph.2005.071936_1
    DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2005.071936
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.2105/AJPH.2005.071936
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.2105/AJPH.2005.071936?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Roland Diel & Albert Nienhaus, 2023. "Pathways of TB Transmission in Children—A Systematic Review of Molecular Epidemiological Studies," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-10, January.
    2. Bjarke Frost Nielsen & Kim Sneppen & Lone Simonsen & Joachim Mathiesen, 2021. "Differences in social activity increase efficiency of contact tracing," The European Physical Journal B: Condensed Matter and Complex Systems, Springer;EDP Sciences, vol. 94(10), pages 1-11, October.
    3. Ge, Erjia & Lai, Poh-Chin & Zhang, Xiulei & Yang, Xiaohuan & Li, Xuezheng & Wang, Haiying & Wei, Xiaolin, 2015. "Regional transport and its association with tuberculosis in the Shandong province of China, 2009–2011," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 232-243.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:10.2105/ajph.2005.071936_1. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Christopher F Baum (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.apha.org .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.