The impact of dengue illness on social distancing and caregiving behavior

Autor: Alan L. Rothman, Helvio Astete-Vega, Thomas W. Scott, Esther Jennifer Ríos López, Uriel Kitron, William H. Elson, Gonzalo M. Vazquez-Prokopec, Alfonso S. Vizcarra Santillan, Lance A. Waller, Valerie A. Paz-Soldan, John P. Elder, Kathryn L. Schaber, Christopher M. Barker, W. Lorena Quiroz Flores, Jhonny J. Cordova-Lopez, Amy C. Morrison, T. Alex Perkins
Přispěvatelé: Gürtler, Ricardo E
Rok vydání: 2021
Předmět:
0301 basic medicine
RNA viruses
Male
Viral Diseases
Epidemiology
RC955-962
Social Sciences
Dengue virus
medicine.disease_cause
Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
Social Distancing
Medical and Health Sciences
Dengue fever
Dengue Fever
Dengue
0302 clinical medicine
Medical Conditions
Sociology
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine
Peru
Medicine and Health Sciences
Child
Geography
Transmission (medicine)
Social distance
Data Collection
Febrile illness
Biological Sciences
Infectious Diseases
Caregivers
Medical Microbiology
Viral Pathogens
Viruses
Female
Pathogens
Public aspects of medicine
RA1-1270
Psychology
Infection
Research Article
Neglected Tropical Diseases
Adult
Social contact
Infectious Disease Control
Adolescent
Distancing
030231 tropical medicine
Physical Distancing
Human Geography
Microbiology
Infectious Disease Epidemiology
Vaccine Related
03 medical and health sciences
Young Adult
Quality of life (healthcare)
Rare Diseases
Clinical Research
Biodefense
Tropical Medicine
Behavioral and Social Science
medicine
Humans
Microbial Pathogens
Biology and life sciences
Flaviviruses
Prevention
Public Health
Environmental and Occupational Health

Organisms
Dengue Virus
medicine.disease
Tropical Diseases
Social Mobility
Health Care
Vector-Borne Diseases
030104 developmental biology
Emerging Infectious Diseases
Good Health and Well Being
Earth Sciences
Quality of Life
Human Mobility
Demography
Zdroj: PLoS neglected tropical diseases, vol 15, iss 7
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Vol 15, Iss 7, p e0009614 (2021)
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases
Popis: Background Human mobility among residential locations can drive dengue virus (DENV) transmission dynamics. Recently, it was shown that individuals with symptomatic DENV infection exhibit significant changes in their mobility patterns, spending more time at home during illness. This change in mobility is predicted to increase the risk of acquiring infection for those living with or visiting the ill individual. It has yet to be considered, however, whether social contacts are also changing their mobility, either by socially distancing themselves from the infectious individual or increasing contact to help care for them. Social, or physical, distancing and caregiving could have diverse yet important impacts on DENV transmission dynamics; therefore, it is necessary to better understand the nature and frequency of these behaviors including their effect on mobility. Methodology and principal findings Through community-based febrile illness surveillance and RT-PCR infection confirmation, 67 DENV positive (DENV+) residents were identified in the city of Iquitos, Peru. Using retrospective interviews, data were collected on visitors and home-based care received during the illness. While 15% of participants lost visitors during their illness, 22% gained visitors; overall, 32% of all individuals (particularly females) received visitors while symptomatic. Caregiving was common (90%), particularly caring by housemates (91%) and caring for children (98%). Twenty-eight percent of caregivers changed their behavior enough to have their work (and, likely, mobility patterns) affected. This was significantly more likely when caring for individuals with low “health-related quality of well-being” during illness (Fisher’s Exact, p = 0.01). Conclusions/Significance Our study demonstrates that social contacts of individuals with dengue modify their patterns of visitation and caregiving. The observed mobility changes could impact a susceptible individual’s exposure to virus or a presymptomatic/clinically inapparent individual’s contribution to onward transmission. Accounting for changes in social contact mobility is imperative in order to get a more accurate understanding of DENV transmission.
Author summary Dengue is the most important mosquito-borne viral disease of humans worldwide. Due to the limited mobility of the mosquitoes that transmit dengue virus, human mobility is a key variable to understanding the spread of dengue through a population. Recently it was shown that individuals with symptomatic dengue have significantly reduced mobility patterns. To better understand how dengue illness affects the behavior of visitors and caregivers, we examined the nature and frequency of a symptomatic individual’s social contacts to determine if their behaviors changed due to social distancing or caregiving. While many participants had a drop off in visitor frequency when ill, almost all participants received help from their housemates. These caregivers were most likely to have their work impacted when helping participants whose quality of life was most negatively affected by illness. We quantified how often these behavioral changes had a discernable effect on the social contact’s mobility patterns. Accounting for mobility changes by social contacts provides a more accurate understanding of infection risk and potential for virus spread through a population. Dengue transmission models that incorporate mobility changes of symptomatic individuals and their social contacts will add currently missing epidemiologically relevant detail for evaluating different disease prevention strategies.
Databáze: OpenAIRE