Social networks and the spread of infectious diseases: the AIDS example.
Conceptualizing a population as a set of individuals linked together to form a large social network provides a fruitful perspective for better understanding the spread of some infectious diseases. Data related to AIDS (the acquired immune deficiency syndrome) were used to illustrate the potential usefulness of a network approach in evaluating the infectious agent hypothesis when studying a disease or disease outbreak of unknown etiology and in developing strategies to limit the spread of an infectious agent transmitted through personal relationships.
D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000635:transmission; D003141:Communicable Diseases / Q000635:transmission*; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D006716:Homosexuality; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D012192:Retroviridae Infections / Q000635:transmission; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D012931:Social Environment