Integrating genetic and epidemiological data to determine transmission pathways of foot-and-mouth disease virus.

ABSTRACT: Estimating detailed transmission trees that reflect the relationships between infected individuals or populations during a disease outbreak often provides valuable insights into both the nature of disease transmission and the overall dynamics of the underlying epidemiological process. These trees may be based on epidemiological data that relate to the timing of infection and infectiousness, or genetic data that show the genetic relatedness of pathogens isolated from infected individuals. Genetic data are becoming increasingly important in the estimation of transmission trees of viral pathogens due to their inherently high mutation rate. Here, we propose a maximum-likelihood approach that allows epidemiological and genetic data to be combined within the same analysis to infer probable trans

SUBMITTER: Cottam EM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2599933 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature