Transmission of viral pathogens in a social network of university students: the eX-FLU study

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Epidemiol Infect
• Personal Author:
  Zivich, P.N. ; Eisenberg, M.C. ; Monto, A.S. ; Uzicanin, A. ; Baric, R. S. ; Sheahan, T. P. ; Rainey, J. J. ; Gao, H. ; Aiello, A. E.
• Description:
  Previous research on respiratory infection transmission among university students has primarily focused on influenza. In this study, we explore potential transmission events for multiple respiratory pathogens in a social contact network of university students. University students residing in on-campus housing (n = 590) were followed for the development of influenza-like illness for 10-weeks during the 2012-13 influenza season. A contact network was built using weekly self-reported contacts, class schedules, and housing information. We considered a transmission event to have occurred if students were positive for the same pathogen and had a network connection within a 14-day period. Transmitters were individuals who had onset date prior to their infected social contact. Throat and nasal samples were analysed for multiple viruses by RT-PCR. Five viruses were involved in 18 transmission events (influenza A, parainfluenza virus 3, rhinovirus, coronavirus NL63, respiratory syncytial virus). Transmitters had higher numbers of co-infections (67%). Identified transmission events had contacts reported in small classes (33%), dormitory common areas (22%) and dormitory rooms (17%). These results suggest that targeting person-to-person interactions, through measures such as isolation and quarantine, could reduce transmission of respiratory infections on campus.
• Subjects:
  Coinfection Female Housing Humans Male Respiratory Tract Infections Social Networking Students Universities Virus Diseases
• Source:
  Epidemiol Infect. 2020; 148
• Pubmed ID:
  32792023
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC7689784
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Funding:
  R01 EB025021/EB/NIBIB NIH HHS/United States ; T32 HD091058/HD/NICHD NIH HHS/United States
• Place as Subject:
  Michigan
• Volume:
  148
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:a3093f852eb9cc5f77d3304fda7ae5233ae9400744223cdac9c80663d0d166c3
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/98896/cdc_98896_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 206.55 KB ]