Social networks and the spread of infectious diseases: the AIDS example.

Conceptualizing a population as a set of individuals linked together to form a large social network provides a fruitful perspective for better understanding the spread of some infectious diseases. Data related to AIDS (the acquired immune deficiency syndrome) were used to illustrate the potential usefulness of a network approach in evaluating the infectious agent hypothesis when studying a disease or disease outbreak of unknown etiology and in developing strategies to limit the spread of an infectious agent transmitted through personal relationships.