. | . |
New transmission model for Ebola predicted Uganda cases by Staff Writers Manhattan KS (SPX) Nov 06, 2019
A new risk assessment model for the transmission of Ebola accurately predicted its spread into the Republic of Uganda, according to the Kansas State University researchers who developed it. Caterina Scoglio, professor, and Mahbubul Riad, doctoral student, both in the Mike Wiegers Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in the Carl R. Ice College of Engineering at Kansas State University; Musa Sekamatte and Issa Makumbi at Uganda Ministry of Health; and Felix Ocom with the World Health Organization in Uganda, published "Risk assessment of Ebola virus disease spreading in Uganda using a two-layer temporal network" in Scientific Reports with Nature Publishing Group on Nov. 5. The paper describes a new model to better predict how diseases like Ebola spread. The model combines data of people's constant contacts - such as family members and co-workers - with their temporary contacts - such as people in a market or encountered during travel. According to Scoglio, the model should be used as a risk assessment tool to prepare and distribute resources, but it was accurate in predicting how the spring outbreak of Ebola in The Democratic Republic of Congo would move into Uganda. "This is very a new type of model," Scoglio said. "Since we consider movement data in addition to constant contacts, we saw that not only are the districts directly bordering Congo at risk but that the districts on the path to some important Ugandan destinations also are at risk." In 2018, Scoglio and her collaborators worked with Ugandan officials to collect movement data to model disease progression and find areas most at risk. According to the model, the Kasese district was the highest risk area for an infected person to enter the country. The researchers used the model to create a 150-day simulation of possible disease progression in Uganda and produced a map of 23 Ugandan districts at risk. The specific scenario used in the simulation was similar to how actual events in Uganda started. According to the Uganda Health Ministry's June 18 release, there were three confirmed cases of Ebola in travelers to Uganda - all from one family that entered the country at the Kasese district border. Again in August, another confirmed case came through the Kasese district from Congo. According to Scoglio, Ugandan officials were prepared for this and were able to stop further spread into the country. "The risk assessment maps can be used to allocate and distribute limited resources," Scoglio said. "Uganda has about 4,000 doses of the new Ebola vaccine. They are vaccinating health workers, communicating about how to prevent spreading diseases, and advising people to limit travel in high-risk areas. We have much respect and admiration for how Uganda has organized the preparedness and now the response." The researchers used the simulation of Ebola in Uganda to test their model because there is a lot of traffic coming into the country from the Democratic Republic of Congo for health care, trading and refuge. Ebola is highly contagious through physical contact with an infected person and their bodily fluids. Scoglio said that even though the real events in Uganda have aligned with the simulated model, the scenario should only be used to mitigate the risk. "One very important point for the public to understand is the concept of risk and probability with these maps," Scoglio said. "It should not be interpreted that these red regions will be affected because that will cause panic in the population, but rather these are a guide for allocation of limited resources in regions that could be potentially affected if no mitigations are implemented." This model may open a new era in infectious disease management, Scoglio said. She gives credit to Aram Vajdi, doctoral student in electrical and computer engineering at Kansas State University, for developing the framework for the theoretical model based on a multilayer temporal network and the Gillespie algorithm. Scoglio also praised Riad, who applied the data collected from Uganda and how Ebola was transmitted to create the risk assessment. According to Scoglio, network models used for highly infectious disease risk assessment must be able to anticipate changes in human-to-human contacts - unlike many other models, which are based mainly on constant contacts and constant movement flows. Using these models can help increase the effectiveness of preventive measures by targeting the most critical regions and can help decrease the risk of Ebola and other infectious diseases from spreading.
Malaria could be felled by an Antarctic sea sponge Washington DC (SPX) Sep 23, 2019 The frigid waters of the Antarctic may yield a treatment for a deadly disease that affects populations in some of the hottest places on earth. Current medications for that scourge - malaria - are becoming less effective as drug resistance spreads. But researchers report in ACS' Journal of Natural Products that a peptide they isolated from an Antarctic sponge shows promise as a lead for new therapies. Some 219 million cases of malaria were reported worldwide in 2017, according to the World Health O ... read more
|
|
The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us. |