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What Heterogeneities in Individual-level Mobility Are Lost During Aggregation? Leveraging GPS Logger Data to Understand Fine-scale and Aggregated Patterns of MobilityHuman movement drives spatial transmission patterns of infectious diseases. Population-level mobility patterns are often quantified using aggregated data sets, such as census migration surveys or mobile phone data. These data are often unable to quantify individual-level travel patterns and lack the information needed to discern how mobility varies by demographic groups. Individual-level datasets can capture additional, more precise, aspects of mobility that may impact disease risk or transmission patterns and determine how mobility differs across cohorts; however, these data are rare, particularly in locations such as sub-Saharan Africa.
Research
Community knowledge, attitude and practices regarding zoonotic viral haemorrhagic fevers in five geo-ecological zones in TanzaniaViral haemorrhagic fevers (VHF) cause significant economic and public health impact in Sub-Saharan Africa. Community knowledge, awareness and practices regarding such outbreaks play a pivotal role in their management and prevention. This study was carried out to assess community knowledge, attitude and practices regarding VHF in five geo-ecological zones in Tanzania.
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Statistical modeling based on structured surveys of Australian native possum excreta harboring Mycobacterium ulcerans predicts Buruli ulcer occurrence in humansBuruli ulcer (BU) is a neglected tropical disease caused by infection of subcutaneous tissue with Mycobacterium ulcerans. BU is commonly reported across rural regions of Central and West Africa but has been increasing dramatically in temperate southeast Australia around the major metropolitan city of Melbourne, with most disease transmission occurring in the summer months.
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Reconstructing the early global dynamics of under-ascertained COVID-19 cases and infectionsAsymptomatic or subclinical SARS-CoV-2 infections are often unreported, which means that confirmed case counts may not accurately reflect underlying epidemic dynamics. Understanding the level of ascertainment (the ratio of confirmed symptomatic cases to the true number of symptomatic individuals) and undetected epidemic progression is crucial to informing COVID-19 response planning, including the introduction and relaxation of control measures.
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Mapping the endemicity and seasonality of clinical malaria for intervention targeting in Haiti using routine case dataTowards the goal of malaria elimination on Hispaniola, the National Malaria Control Program of Haiti and its international partner organisations are conducting a campaign of interventions targeted to high-risk communities prioritised through evidence-based planning. Here we present a key piece of this planning: an up-to-date, fine-scale endemicity map and seasonality profile for Haiti informed by monthly case counts.
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Modelling temperature-driven changes in species associations across freshwater communitiesDue to global climate change–induced shifts in species distributions, estimating changes in community composition through the use of Species Distribution Models has become a key management tool. Being able to determine how species associations change along environmental gradients is likely to be pivotal in exploring the magnitude of future changes in species’ distributions.
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Spatial distribution of rotavirus immunization coverage in Ethiopia: a geospatial analysis using the Bayesian approachRotavirus causes substantial morbidity and mortality every year, particularly among under-five children. Despite Rotavirus immunization preventing severe diarrheal disease in children, the vaccination coverage remains inadequate in many African countries including Ethiopia.
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Seroprevalence and associated risk factors of chikungunya, dengue, and Zika in eight districts in TanzaniaThis study was conducted to determine the seroprevalence and risk factors of chikungunya (CHIKV), dengue (DENV), and Zika (ZIKV) viruses in Tanzania.
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WALLABY pre-pilot survey: Two dark clouds in the vicinity of NGC 1395We present the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) WALLABY pre-pilot observations of two 'dark' H i sources (with H i masses of a few times 108 {M}_\odot and no known stellar counterpart) that reside within 363 kpc of NGC 1395, the most massive early-type galaxy in the Eridanus group of galaxies.
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Emulator-based Bayesian optimization for efficient multi-objective calibration of an individual-based model of malariaIndividual-based models have become important tools in the global battle against infectious diseases, yet model complexity can make calibration to biological and epidemiological data challenging. We propose using a Bayesian optimization framework employing Gaussian process or machine learning emulator functions to calibrate a complex malaria transmission simulator.