New tuberculosis research from V.J. Cook and co-researchers described
2008 JAN 21 -- "Social network analysis (SNA) is an innovative approach to the collection and analysis of infectious disease transmission data. We studied whether this approach can detect patterns of Mycobacterium tuberculosis transmission and play a helpful role in the complex process of prioritizing tuberculosis (TB) contact investigations," scientists in Vancouver, Canada report. "We abstracted routine demographic and clinical variables from patient medical records and contact interview forms. We also administered a structured questionnaire about places of social aggregation to TB patients and their contacts. All case-contact, contact-contact, case-place, and contact-place dyads (pairs and links) were considered in order to analyze the structure of a social network of TB transmission. Molecular genotyping was used to confirm SNA-detected clusters of TB. TB patients not linked through conventional contact-investigation data were connected through mutual contacts or places of social aggregation, using SNA methods. In some instances, SNA detected connected groups prior to the availability of genotyping results. A positive correlation between positive results of contacts' tuberculin skin test (TST) and location in denser portions of the person-place network was observed (P <.01). Correlation between TST-positive status and dense subgroup occurrence supports the value of collecting place data to help prioritize TB contact investigations," wrote V.J. Cook and colleagues. The researchers concluded: "TB controllers should consider developing social network analysis capacity to facilitate the systematic collection, analysis, and interpretation of contact-investigation data." Cook and colleagues published their study in the Journal of Infectious Diseases (Transmission network analysis in tuberculosis contact investigations. Journal of Infectious Diseases, 2007;196(10):1517-1527). For additional information, contact V.J. Cook, British Columbia Center Diseases Control, Division TB Control, 655 W 12th Avenue, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4R4, Canada. The publisher's contact information for the Journal of Infectious Diseases is: University Chicago Press, 1427 E 60th St., Chicago, IL 60637-2954, USA. Keywords: Canada, Vancouver, Cutaneous Tuberculosis, Infectious Disease, Mycobacteria, Mycobacterium Tuberculosis. This article was prepared by Tuberculosis Week editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2008, Tuberculosis Week via NewsRx.com.
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