Inferring person-to-person networks of Plasmodium falciparum transmission: are analyses of routine surveillance data up to the task?

ABSTRACT:

Background

Inference of person-to-person transmission networks using surveillance data is increasingly used to estimate spatiotemporal patterns of pathogen transmission. Several data types can be used to inform transmission network inferences, yet the sensitivity of those inferences to different data types is not routinely evaluated.

Methods

The influence of different combinations of spatial, temporal, and travel-history data on transmission network inferences for Plasmodium falciparum malaria were evaluated.

Results

The information content of these data types may be limited for inferring person-to-person transmission networks and may lead to an overestimate of transmission. Only when outbreaks were temporally focal or travel histories were accurate was the algorithm

SUBMITTER: Huber JH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8860266 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature