Infectious disease control: combining molecular biological and network methods

As the magnitude of the HIV/AIDS pandemic became apparent, attention was directed once again at the control of infectious diseases. Tuberculosis (TB), the focus here, was once thought ‘conquered’ but again has become a matter of concern. Historically, TB control has concentrated on contacts between infectious cases and susceptible persons in their immediate social (often household) environments. The development of DNA strain typing of the bacterium M. tuberculosis, however, provided important new tools from molecular biology. Subsequent work has indicated that transmission could occur more readily than previously believed, i.e. in community settings. Limitations of conventional TB control programs thus were revealed. Here, tools from molecular biology, epidemiology and network analysis are integrated to suggest a new approach to infectious disease control.