The impact of dengue illness on social distancing and caregiving behavior.

Background Human mobility among residential locations can drive dengue virus (DENV) transmission dynamics. Recently, it was shown that individuals with symptomatic DENV infection exhibit significant changes in their mobility patterns, spending more time at home during illness. This change in mobilit...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases
Main Authors: Kathryn L Schaber, Amy C Morrison, William H Elson, Helvio Astete-Vega, Jhonny J Córdova-López, Esther Jennifer Ríos López, W Lorena Quiroz Flores, Alfonso S Vizcarra Santillan, Thomas W Scott, Lance A Waller, Uriel Kitron, Christopher M Barker, T Alex Perkins, Alan L Rothman, Gonzalo M Vazquez-Prokopec, John P Elder, Valerie A Paz-Soldan
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2021
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0009614
https://doaj.org/article/2b810702d1434359977d474ae03c09c7
Description
Summary:Background Human mobility among residential locations can drive dengue virus (DENV) transmission dynamics. Recently, it was shown that individuals with symptomatic DENV infection exhibit significant changes in their mobility patterns, spending more time at home during illness. This change in mobility is predicted to increase the risk of acquiring infection for those living with or visiting the ill individual. It has yet to be considered, however, whether social contacts are also changing their mobility, either by socially distancing themselves from the infectious individual or increasing contact to help care for them. Social, or physical, distancing and caregiving could have diverse yet important impacts on DENV transmission dynamics; therefore, it is necessary to better understand the nature and frequency of these behaviors including their effect on mobility. Methodology and principal findings Through community-based febrile illness surveillance and RT-PCR infection confirmation, 67 DENV positive (DENV+) residents were identified in the city of Iquitos, Peru. Using retrospective interviews, data were collected on visitors and home-based care received during the illness. While 15% of participants lost visitors during their illness, 22% gained visitors; overall, 32% of all individuals (particularly females) received visitors while symptomatic. Caregiving was common (90%), particularly caring by housemates (91%) and caring for children (98%). Twenty-eight percent of caregivers changed their behavior enough to have their work (and, likely, mobility patterns) affected. This was significantly more likely when caring for individuals with low "health-related quality of well-being" during illness (Fisher's Exact, p = 0.01). Conclusions/significance Our study demonstrates that social contacts of individuals with dengue modify their patterns of visitation and caregiving. The observed mobility changes could impact a susceptible individual's exposure to virus or a presymptomatic/clinically inapparent individual's ...