Mobility restrictions for the control of epidemics: When do they work?

PLoS One

School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, United States of America.

Published: July 2020

Background: Mobility restrictions-trade and travel bans, border closures and, in extreme cases, area quarantines or cordons sanitaires-are among the most widely used measures to control infectious diseases. Restrictions of this kind were important in the response to epidemics of SARS (2003), H1N1 influenza (2009), Ebola (2014) and, currently in the containment of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. However, they do not always work as expected.

Methods: To determine when mobility restrictions reduce the size of an epidemic, we use a model of disease transmission within and between economically heterogeneous locally connected communities. One community comprises a low-risk, low-density population with access to effective medical resources. The other comprises a high-risk, high-density population without access to effective medical resources.

Findings: Unrestricted mobility between the two risk communities increases the number of secondary cases in the low-risk community but reduces the overall epidemic size. By contrast, the imposition of a cordon sanitaire around the high-risk community reduces the number of secondary infections in the low-risk community but increases the overall epidemic size.

Interpretation: Mobility restrictions may not be an effective policy for controlling the spread of an infectious disease if it is assessed by the overall final epidemic size. Patterns of mobility established through the independent mobility and trade decisions of people in both communities may be sufficient to contain epidemics.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7337314PMC
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0235731PLOS

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

mobility restrictions
12
population access
8
access effective
8
effective medical
8
number secondary
8
low-risk community
8
community reduces
8
epidemic size
8
mobility
7
restrictions control
4

Similar Publications

Sanctuary policies and type 2 diabetes medication prescription trends among community health center patients.

Health Aff Sch

January 2025

Department of Public Health and Health Sciences, Bouvé College of Health Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, United States.

Immigrants in the United States are at increased risk of diabetes-related complications due to delayed diagnoses compared with US-born individuals. Immigration-related federal policies may support immigration enforcement activities and restrict some immigrants' access to health insurance and other publicly funded resources. Conversely, state and county-level sanctuary policies may reduce the fear of deportation and increase mobility in the community, improving the accessibility of essential pharmacological treatment for type 2 diabetes patients.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

[Physiological and pathophysiological changes of the ageing lung].

Z Gerontol Geriatr

January 2025

Institut für Lungenforschung, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Deutsches Zentrum für Lungenforschung (DZL), Marburg, Deutschland.

Background: Due to age-related changes the lung function decreases. At the same time there is an increase in pulmonary diseases that lead to restrictions in mobility and autonomy.

Research Question: What are the underlying changes in lung ageing? To what extent do they affect lung function and are there factors that can be influenced?

Method: Literature search.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Single-molecule microscopy reveals that importin α slides along DNA while transporting cargo molecules.

Biochem Biophys Res Commun

January 2025

Institute of Multidisciplinary Research for Advanced Materials, Tohoku University, Katahira 2-1-1, Aoba-ku, Sendai, 980-8577, Japan; Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University, Katahira 2-1-1, Aoba-ku, Sendai, 980-8577, Japan; Faculty of Engineering and Graduate School of Engineering, Gifu University, Yanagido 1-1, Gifu, 501-1193, Japan. Electronic address:

Importin α is a crucial player in the nucleocytoplasmic transport of nuclear localization signal (NLS)-containing cargo proteins and is suggested to bind to DNA directly. We hypothesized that importin α, after binding to DNA, may move along DNA via sliding or hopping. We investigated the movement dynamics of importin αs fused to AcGFP along DNA using single-molecule fluorescence microscopy and single-tethered DNA arrays.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Temporomandibular disorders have a multifactorial etiology including biological, biomechanical, neuromuscular, and biopsychosocial factors. Current research on temporomandibular disorders focuses on identifying clinically relevant biomarkers thus creating a new way of thinking about this dysfunction. The aim of the study was to determine the relationship between salivary/blood concentrations of oxidative/nitrosative stress biomarkers and biopsychosocial findings in patients with temporomandibular disorder-myofascial pain with referral.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) which is judged based on birth weight and gestational age, is associated with increased neonatal mobility and mortality and also has a further impact on physical and mental health during later in life. Using the birth weight percentile for singletons to assess twins might not accurately reflect the growth status of the twins; this could potentially lead to an incorrect evaluation of growth-restricted children. For a more precise assessment of twin newborns, it is beneficial to utilize twin-specific birth weight percentile curves and ponderal index (PI) curves that consider factors such as birth order and sex.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!