Social contact patterns relevant to the spread of respiratory infectious diseases in Hong Kong.

ABSTRACT: The spread of many respiratory infections is determined by contact patterns between infectious and susceptible individuals in the population. There are no published data for quantifying social contact patterns relevant to the spread of respiratory infectious diseases in Hong Kong which is a hotspot for emerging infectious diseases due to its high population density and connectivity in the air transportation network. We adopted a commonly used diary-based design to conduct a social contact survey in Hong Kong in 2015/16 using both paper and online questionnaires. Participants using paper questionnaires reported more contacts and longer contact duration than those using online questionnaires. Participants reported 13 person-hours of contact and 8 contacts per day on average, which decreased

SUBMITTER: Leung K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5554254 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature