Grant: Operating Grant

In April 2009, the first deaths from a novel strain of influenza virus were reported in Mexico and the United States. Scientists have speculated that this strain could spark the second wave of the influenza pandemic in North America during the upcoming fall flu season, thus confirming the importance of research that will help us prepare for pandemics caused by influenza viruses and other emerging respiratory infectious agents, as well as seasonal influenza epidemics. Mathematically modeling the patterns of influenza spread is of great benefit for furthering our understanding of disease impact within different settings. It is also a powerful tool for designing rapid and efficient intervention strategies to limit this spread, particularly within highly concentrated small settings such as hospitals and schools. This project will demonstrate how small tags worn by volunteers, known as Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), can rapidly, accurately, and anonymously record the duration and proximity of person-to-person contacts in small settings. These data will then be used to inform mathematical models capable of demonstrating the underlying contact network structure during a pandemic, hospital acquired infection outbreak or other crisis. Understanding contact patterns will provide a significant advantage in controlling an outbreak by initially identifying locations and/or groups that may be at higher risk. The epidemiological toolkit developed through this application as well as the data collected during this study are anticipated to improve Canada's ability to prevent and/or respond to an influenza pandemic or other emerging respiratory infections.