Maimuna S Majumder1, Emily L Cohn2, Mauricio Santillana3, John S Brownstein4. 1. Computational Epidemiology Group, Division of Emergency Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, United States; Institute for Data, Systems, and Society (IDSS), Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States. 2. Computational Epidemiology Group, Division of Emergency Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, United States; Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States. 3. Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States. 4. Computational Epidemiology Group, Division of Emergency Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, United States; Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, United States.
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Between August and November 2017, Madagascar reported nearly 2500 cases of plague; the vast majority of these cases were pneumonic, resulting in early exponential growth due to person-to-person transmission. Though plague is endemic in Madagascar, cases are usually bubonic and thus result in considerably smaller annual caseloads than those observed from August-November 2017. METHODS: In this study, we consider the transmission dynamics of pneumonic plague in Madagascar during this time period, as well as the role of control strategies that were deployed to curb the outbreak and their effectiveness. RESULTS: When using data from the beginning of the outbreak through late November 2017, our estimates for the basic reproduction number range from 1.6 to 3.6, with a mean of 2.4. We also find two distinctive periods of "control", which coincide with critical on-the-ground interventions, including contact tracing and delivery of antibiotics, among others. DISCUSSION: Given these results, we conclude that existing interventions remain effective against plague in Madagascar, despite the atypical size and spread of this particular outbreak.
INTRODUCTION: Between August and November 2017, Madagascar reported nearly 2500 cases of plague; the vast majority of these cases were pneumonic, resulting in early exponential growth due to person-to-person transmission. Though plague is endemic in Madagascar, cases are usually bubonic and thus result in considerably smaller annual caseloads than those observed from August-November 2017. METHODS: In this study, we consider the transmission dynamics of pneumonic plague in Madagascar during this time period, as well as the role of control strategies that were deployed to curb the outbreak and their effectiveness. RESULTS: When using data from the beginning of the outbreak through late November 2017, our estimates for the basic reproduction number range from 1.6 to 3.6, with a mean of 2.4. We also find two distinctive periods of "control", which coincide with critical on-the-ground interventions, including contact tracing and delivery of antibiotics, among others. DISCUSSION: Given these results, we conclude that existing interventions remain effective against plague in Madagascar, despite the atypical size and spread of this particular outbreak.
Authors: Maimuna S Majumder; Mauricio Santillana; Sumiko R Mekaru; Denise P McGinnis; Kamran Khan; John S Brownstein Journal: JMIR Public Health Surveill Date: 2016-06-01
Authors: Derrick Hau; Brian Wade; Chris Lovejoy; Sujata G Pandit; Dana E Reed; Haley L DeMers; Heather R Green; Emily E Hannah; Megan E McLarty; Cameron J Creek; Chonnikarn Chokapirat; Jose Arias-Umana; Garett F Cecchini; Teerapat Nualnoi; Marcellene A Gates-Hollingsworth; Peter N Thorkildson; Kathryn J Pflughoeft; David P AuCoin Journal: PLoS Negl Trop Dis Date: 2022-03-23