Estimation of the force of infection and infectious period of skin sores in remote Australian communities using interval-censored data

Michael J Lydeamore; Patricia T Campbell; David J Price; Yue Wu; Adrian J Marcato; Will Cuningham; Jonathan R Carapetis; Ross M Andrews; Malcolm McDonald; Jodie McVernon; Steven YC Tong; James M McCaw

Journal article

Estimation of the force of infection and infectious period of skin sores in remote Australian communities using interval-censored data

Michael J Lydeamore, Patricia T Campbell, David J Price, Yue Wu, Adrian J Marcato, Will Cuningham, Jonathan R Carapetis, Ross M Andrews, Malcolm McDonald, Jodie McVernon, Steven YC Tong, James M McCaw

PLoS Computational Biology | Public Library of Science (PLoS) | Published : 2020

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1007838

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Abstract

Prevalence of impetigo (skin sores) remains high in remote Australian Aboriginal communities, Fiji, and other areas of socio-economic disadvantage. Skin sore infections, driven primarily in these settings by Group A Streptococcus (GAS) contribute substantially to the disease burden in these areas. Despite this, estimates for the force of infection, infectious period and basic reproductive ratio—all necessary for the construction of dynamic transmission models—have not been obtained. By utilising three datasets each containing longitudinal infection information on individuals, we estimate each of these epidemiologically important parameters. With an eye to future study design, we also quantif..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

Trish Campbell Author Infectious Diseases

Steven Tong Author Infectious Diseases

David Price Author Infectious Diseases

James McCaw Author Mathematics and Statistics

Ross Andrews Author Paediatrics Royal Children's Hospital

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Grants

Awarded by NHMRC Project Grant titled 'Optimising intervention strategies to reduce the burden of Group A Streptococcus in Aboriginal Communities'

Awarded by NHMRC Centre for Research Excellence in Infectious Disease Modelling to Inform Public Health Policy

Awarded by NHMRC Principal Research Fellowship

Awarded by NHMRC Career Development Fellowship

Funding Acknowledgements

MJL is funded by an Australian Postgraduate Research Training Program scholarship. This work is supported by an NHMRC Project Grant titled 'Optimising intervention strategies to reduce the burden of Group A Streptococcus in Aboriginal Communities' (GNT1098319). We thank the NHMRC Centre for Research Excellence in Infectious Disease Modelling to Inform Public Health Policy (GNT1078068). JMVis supported by an NHMRC Principal Research Fellowship (GNT1117140). SYCT is supported by an NHMRC Career Development Fellowship (GNT1145033). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.