Epidemiology Commons^™

Cholera Transmission Dynamic Models For Public Health Practitioners, Isaac Chun-Hai Fung

Epidemiology Faculty Publications

Great progress has been made in mathematical models of cholera transmission dynamics in recent years. However, little impact, if any, has been made by models upon public health decision-making and day-to-day routine of epidemiologists. This paper provides a brief introduction to the basics of ordinary differential equation models of cholera transmission dynamics. We discuss a basic model adapted from Codeço (2001), and how it can be modified to incorporate different hypotheses, including the importance of asymptomatic or inapparent infections, and hyperinfectious V. choleraeand human-to-human transmission. We highlight three important challenges of cholera models: (1) model misspecification and parameter uncertainty, …

Cost-Effectiveness Of Alternative Strategies For Annual Influenza Vaccination Among Children Aged 6 Months To 14 Years In Four Provinces In China, Lei Zhou, Sujian Situ, Zijian Feng, Charisma Y. Atkins, Isaac Chun-Hai Fung, Zhen Xu, Ting Huang, Shixiong Hu, Xianjun Wang

Epidemiology Faculty Publications

Background: To support policy making, we developed an initial model to assess the cost-effectiveness of potential strategies to increase influenza vaccination rates among children in China.

Methods: We studied on children aged 6 months to 14 years in four provinces (Shandong, Henan, Hunan, and Sichuan), with a health care system perspective. We used data from 2005/6 to 2010/11, excluding 2009/10. Costs are reported in 2010 U.S. dollars.

Results: In comparison with no vaccination, the mean (range) of Medically Attended Cases averted by the current self-payment policy for the two age groups (6 to 59 months and 60 …

Chinese Social Media Reaction To The Mers-Cov And Avian Influenza A (H7n9) Outbreaks, Isaac Chun-Hai Fung, King-Wa Fu, Yuchen Ying, Braydon Schaible, Yi Hao, Chung-Hong Chan, Zion Tsz-Ho Tse

Epidemiology Faculty Publications

Background: As internet and social media use have skyrocketed, epidemiologists have begun to use online data such as Google query data and Twitter trends to track the activity levels of influenza and other infectious diseases. In China, Weibo is an extremely popular microblogging site that is equivalent to Twitter. Capitalizing on the wealth of public opinion data contained in posts on Weibo, this study used Weibo as a measure of the Chinese people’s reactions to two different outbreaks: the 2012 Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) outbreak, and the 2013 outbreak of human infection of avian influenza A(H7N9) in China. …

Hiv Rates In The State Of Georgia: A Growing Threat Among Predominately African American Populations, Swati Raychowdhury, Stuart H. Tedders

Epidemiology Faculty Publications

Background: US rates of HIV/AIDS continue to rise with over 55% of new cases identified in southern states in 2003. The objective of this study was to determine the magnitude of HIV/AIDS cases in rural southeast Georgia in comparison to urban areas of the state.

Methods: County level data was acquired using OASIS. Rates of HIV infections by gender and race (black vs. white) were aggregated over a five year period (2000–2005) and indirectly adjusted using Georgia as the standard. Rates for rural counties, (populations less than 35,000), were statistically compared to urban rates (α = 0.05).

Results: HIV infections …

Individual Differences In Well-Being In Older Breast Cancer Survivors, Elizabeth A. Perkins, Brent J. Small, Lodovico Balducci, Martine Extermann, Claire Robb, William E. Haley

Epidemiology Faculty Publications

Older women who survive breast cancer may differ significantly in their long-term well-being. Using a risk and protective factors model, we studied predictors of well-being in 127 women age 70 and above with a history of at least one year's survival of breast cancer. Mean post-cancer survivorship was 5.1 years. Using life satisfaction, depression and general health perceptions as outcome variables, we assessed whether demographic variables, cancer-related variables, health status and psychosocial resources predicted variability in well-being using correlational and hierarchical regression analyses. Higher age predicted increased depression but was not associated with life satisfaction or general health perceptions. Cancer-related …