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The population ecology of infectious diseases: pertussis in Thailand as a case study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 April 2012

J. C. BLACKWOOD*
Affiliation:
Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA and Center for the Study of Complex Systems University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
D. A. T. CUMMINGS
Affiliation:
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Baltimore, MD 21205, USA Fogarty International Center, National Institutes of Health Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
H. BROUTIN
Affiliation:
MIVEGEC, UMR CNRS 5290-IRD 224-UM1-UM2 Centre de recherche IRD 911 Avenue Agropolis BP 64501 34394 Montpellier Cédex 5, France
S. IAMSIRITHAWORN
Affiliation:
Bureau of Epidemiology, Ministry of Public Health Nonthaburi, Thailand
P. ROHANI
Affiliation:
Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA and Center for the Study of Complex Systems University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA Fogarty International Center, National Institutes of Health Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
*
*Corresponding author: Phone:(734) 615-4646. E-mail: juliecb@umich.edu

Summary

Many of the fundamental concepts in studying infectious diseases are rooted in population ecology. We describe the importance of population ecology in exploring central issues in infectious disease research including identifying the drivers and dynamics of host-pathogen interactions and pathogen persistence, and evaluating the success of public health policies. The use of ecological concepts in infectious disease research is demonstrated with simple theoretical examples in addition to an analysis of case notification data of pertussis, a childhood respiratory disease, in Thailand as a case study. We stress that further integration of these fields will have significant impacts in infectious diseases research.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

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