Matching Items (7)
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- All Subjects: Epidemiology
- Creators: Hurtado, Ana Magdalena
- Creators: School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences
- Resource Type: Text
Description
The health situation of indigenous peoples is comparable to that of the world's poorest populations, but with the additional burdens of social and cultural marginalization, geographic and cultural barriers to accessing health services, and, in some areas, appropriation of land and natural resources. Cultural transmission (the transfer of beliefs, ideas, and behaviors from one culture to another) from outsider health institutions should presumably aid in closing this health gap by transferring knowledge, practices, and infrastructure to prevent and treat disease. This study examines the biosocial construction of the disease ecology of tuberculosis (TB) in indigenous communities of the Paraguayan Chaco with varying degrees of cultural transmission from outside institutions (government, religious, and NGOs), to determine the influence of cultural transmission on local disease ecologies. Using a biocultural epidemiological framework for the analysis of human infectious disease ecology, this study employed an interdisciplinary, mixed methods approach to examine the interactions of host, pathogen, and the environment in the Paraguayan Chaco. Three case studies examining aspects of TB disease ecology in indigenous communities are presented: (1) The effective cultural transmission of biomedical knowledge to isolated communities, (2) Public health infrastructure, hygiene, and the prevalence of intestinal parasites: co-morbidities that promote the progression to active TB disease, and (3) Community-level risk factors for TB and indigenous TB burden. Findings from the case studies suggest that greater influence from outside institutions was not associated with greater adoption of biomedical knowledge of TB. The prevalence of helminthiasis was unexpectedly low, but infection with giardia was common, even in a community with cleaner water sources. Communities with a health post were more likely to report active adult TB, while communities with more education were less likely to report active pediatric TB, suggesting that healthcare access is the major determinant of TB detection. More research is needed on the role of non-indigenous community residents and other measures of acculturation or integration in TB outcomes, especially at the household level. Indigenous TB burden in the Chaco is disproportionately high, and better understanding of the mechanisms that produce higher incidence and prevalence of the disease is needed.
ContributorsVansteelandt, Amanda (Author) / Hurtado, Ana Magdalena (Thesis advisor) / Stone, Anne (Thesis advisor) / Hruschka, Daniel (Committee member) / Rojas de Arias, Antonieta (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
The purpose of this study is to discover the exposure and network patterns during the 2013-2015 Ebola Virus Disease epidemic. The author accomplished this by taking an opportunistic sample of news and academic articles, some of which may also capture cases untreated and therefore unrecorded by hospitals and treatment units. Most of the 315 cases came from the Washington Post, New York Times, and World Health Organization, and they consistently captured between 1-2% of WHO case numbers. The results show that of cases with known exposures, 53.6% became infected through contact with sick family members. Hospital and funeral transmission accounted for the second and third most frequent exposure scenarios at 24.6% and 12.9% respectively. The exposures over time imply that hospital and funeral transmission prevention efforts have been successful, but family transmission has remained common throughout the outbreak. Prevention initiatives should focus on families earlier in epidemics to help control EVD's spread.
ContributorsCleaton, Julie Marie (Author) / Chowell, Gerardo (Thesis director) / Hurtado, Ana Magdalena (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Mortality of 1918 influenza virus was high, partly due to bacteria coinfections. We characterize pandemic mortality in Arizona, which had high prevalence of tuberculosis. We applied regressions to over 35,000 data points to estimate the basic reproduction number and excess mortality. Age-specific mortality curves show elevated mortality for all age groups, especially the young, and senior sparing effects. The low value for reproduction number indicates that transmissibility was moderately low.
ContributorsJenner, Melinda Eva (Author) / Chowell-Puente, Gerardo (Thesis director) / Kostelich, Eric (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
The purpose of this research is to exploit the neglect of specific populations and diseases in Latin America through an epidemiological literature review. As a small part of a larger publication, the foci of this research was the infectious disease, helminthiasis. Using manually indexed abstracts from the National Library of Medicine database in PubMed, 4,594 papers were synthesized and then processed for further review. Of those papers, 29 provided information about helminths in indigenous populations. These papers were reviewed and used in prevalence data extraction and variable analysis. The main conclusion was to reveal the fact that from an entire health database less than 30 papers provided information about the persistence of helminths in indigenous communities of Latin America. Not only that but the few papers that could be analyzed had consistently high prevalence ratios.
ContributorsGregory, Cassandre June (Author) / Hurtado, Ana Magdalena (Thesis director) / Estevez, Dulce (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution & Social Change (Contributor, Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05
Description
Understanding the consequences of changes in social networks is an important an-
thropological research goal. This dissertation looks at the role of data-driven social
networks on infectious disease transmission and evolution. The dissertation has two
projects. The first project is an examination of the effects of the superspreading
phenomenon, wherein a relatively few individuals are responsible for a dispropor-
tionate number of secondary cases, on the patterns of an infectious disease. The
second project examines the timing of the initial introduction of tuberculosis (TB) to
the human population. The results suggest that TB has a long evolutionary history
with hunter-gatherers. Both of these projects demonstrate the consequences of social
networks for infectious disease transmission and evolution.
The introductory chapter provides a review of social network-based studies in an-
thropology and epidemiology. Particular emphasis is paid to the concept and models
of superspreading and why to consider it, as this is central to the discussion in chapter
2. The introductory chapter also reviews relevant epidemic mathematical modeling
studies.
In chapter 2, social networks are connected with superspreading events, followed
by an investigation of how social networks can provide greater understanding of in-
fectious disease transmission through mathematical models. Using the example of
SARS, the research shows how heterogeneity in transmission rate impacts super-
spreading which, in turn, can change epidemiological inference on model parameters
for an epidemic.
Chapter 3 uses a different mathematical model to investigate the evolution of TB
in hunter-gatherers. The underlying question is the timing of the introduction of TB
to the human population. Chapter 3 finds that TB’s long latent period is consistent
with the evolutionary pressure which would be exerted by transmission on a hunter-
igatherer social network. Evidence of a long coevolution with humans indicates an
early introduction of TB to the human population.
Both of the projects in this dissertation are demonstrations of the impact of var-
ious characteristics and types of social networks on infectious disease transmission
dynamics. The projects together force epidemiologists to think about networks and
their context in nontraditional ways.
thropological research goal. This dissertation looks at the role of data-driven social
networks on infectious disease transmission and evolution. The dissertation has two
projects. The first project is an examination of the effects of the superspreading
phenomenon, wherein a relatively few individuals are responsible for a dispropor-
tionate number of secondary cases, on the patterns of an infectious disease. The
second project examines the timing of the initial introduction of tuberculosis (TB) to
the human population. The results suggest that TB has a long evolutionary history
with hunter-gatherers. Both of these projects demonstrate the consequences of social
networks for infectious disease transmission and evolution.
The introductory chapter provides a review of social network-based studies in an-
thropology and epidemiology. Particular emphasis is paid to the concept and models
of superspreading and why to consider it, as this is central to the discussion in chapter
2. The introductory chapter also reviews relevant epidemic mathematical modeling
studies.
In chapter 2, social networks are connected with superspreading events, followed
by an investigation of how social networks can provide greater understanding of in-
fectious disease transmission through mathematical models. Using the example of
SARS, the research shows how heterogeneity in transmission rate impacts super-
spreading which, in turn, can change epidemiological inference on model parameters
for an epidemic.
Chapter 3 uses a different mathematical model to investigate the evolution of TB
in hunter-gatherers. The underlying question is the timing of the introduction of TB
to the human population. Chapter 3 finds that TB’s long latent period is consistent
with the evolutionary pressure which would be exerted by transmission on a hunter-
igatherer social network. Evidence of a long coevolution with humans indicates an
early introduction of TB to the human population.
Both of the projects in this dissertation are demonstrations of the impact of var-
ious characteristics and types of social networks on infectious disease transmission
dynamics. The projects together force epidemiologists to think about networks and
their context in nontraditional ways.
ContributorsNesse, Hans P (Author) / Hurtado, Ana Magdalena (Thesis advisor) / Castillo-Chavez, Carlos (Committee member) / Mubayi, Anuj (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
In this project we focus on COVID-19 in a university setting. Arizona State University has a very large population on the Tempe Campus. With the emergence of diseases such as COVID-19, it is very important to track how such a disease spreads within that type of community. This is vital for containment measures and the safety of everyone involved. We found in the literature several epidemiology models that utilize differential equations for tracking a spread of a disease. However, our goal is to provide a granular look at how disease may spread through contact in a classroom. This thesis models a single ASU classroom and tracks the spread of a disease. It is important to note that our variables and declarations are not aligned with COVID-19 or any other specific disease but are chosen to exemplify the impact of some key parameters on the epidemic size. We found that a smaller transmissibility alongside a more spread-out classroom of agents resulted in fewer infections overall. There are many extensions to this model that are needed in order to take what we have demonstrated and align those ideas with COVID-19 and it’s spread at ASU. However, this model successfully demonstrates a spread of disease through single-classroom interaction, which is the key component for any university campus disease transmission model.
ContributorsJoseph, Mariam (Author) / Bartko, Ezri (Co-author) / Sabuwala, Sana (Co-author) / Milner, Fabio (Thesis director) / O'Keefe, Kelly (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / Division of Teacher Preparation (Contributor)
Created2022-12
Description
Malaria is a deadly, infectious, parasitic disease which is caused by Plasmodium parasites and transmitted between humans via the bite of adult female Anopheles mosquitoes. The primary insecticide-based interventions used to control malaria are indoor residual spraying (IRS) and long-lasting insecticide nets (LLINs). Larvicides are another insecticide-based intervention which is less commonly used. In this study, a mathematical model for malaria transmission dynamics in an endemic region which incorporates the use of IRS, LLINS, and larvicides is presented. The model is rigorously analyzed to gain insight into the asymptotic stability of the disease-free equilibrium. Simulations of the model show that individual insecticide-based interventions will not realistically control malaria in regions with high endemicity, but an integrated vector management strategy involving the use of multiple interventions could lead to the effective control of the disease. This study suggests that the use of larvicides alongside IRS and LLINs in endemic regions may be more effective than using only IRS and LLINs.
ContributorsJameson, Leah (Author) / Gumel, Abba (Thesis director) / Huijben, Silvie (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / School of Civic & Economic Thought and Leadership (Contributor)
Created2022-05