Iquitos, Peru
I am a second-year PhD student in the entomology program and in my first year working towards a concurrent MS in epidemiology. I am interested in the epidemiology of dengue virus.
Area of Research: Epidemiology of Dengue
Dengue is the most important mosquito-borne virus in the world. The "mild" form of the disease causes fever, weakness, and debilitating pain, hence its moniker, "breakbone fever." The severe form of the disease is characterized by extremely low platelet counts and plasma leakage leading to hemorrhages, shock, and sometimes death. Dengue is found in the tropics, but has the potential to occur wherever its vectors, Aedes mosquitoes, are found-including the southern part of the U.S. The virus that causes dengue is actually a collection of four distinct serotypes. Having had one form of dengue does not protect you against the others. There is currently no vaccine available. For more about dengue, see the cdc page:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/dengue/index.htm
Specifically, I am interested in testing several of the assumptions of homogeneity in basic disease transmission models. Models often assume that force of transmission is independent of age. Violation of this assumption has important implications for control measures. For example, if force of transmission is relatively higher among older age groups, then control measures will tend to push transmission into those age groups where it is more difficult to eradicate. While the hemorrhagic form of dengue is most severe among children, classical dengue fever may be more severe in adults. Thus, if force of transmission is greater in adults, control measures may indirectly lead to higher morbidity. I am working to measure the strain-specific forces of transmission for dengue 1 and dengue 2 in Iquitos, Peru and to determine if they are independent of age.
A second common simplifying assumption is that infectious contacts are spatially homogeneous. In Iquitos, mosquito densities and dengue transmission rates vary spatially. I am interested in determining the effect of the spatial heterogeneity on the transmission dynamics of the virus. A disease that varies spatially can be more difficult to control unless the control measures are modified appropriately. I would like to develop a model based on the observed heterogeneous distribution of dengue viruses in Iquitos and simulate the effect of different control measures.
Papers and Presentations
- Minnick SL, Morrison AC, Kochel TJ, Watts DM, Halstead SB, and TW Scott. 2002. Serological Interactions Between Yellow Fever Vaccination and Dengue Infection in Iquitos, Peru. Presented at the American Mosquito Control Association Annual Meeting, Denver, Colorado 2002.
- Merte J, Minnick SL, Romanick RR, Owen RP and R Nichols. Physiological characterization of a novel Drosophila melanogaster myotropin. Paper presented at the Winter Neuropeptide Conference Invertebrate Division 2001, Playa del Carmen, Mexico.
- Minnick S, Romanick R, Owen R, Orlowski E, and R Nichols. Ions affect dAST heart rate reduction. Paper presented at Winter Neuropeptide Conference Invertebrate Division 2000, Hua Hin, Thailand.
- Nichols R, Merte J, Petrick E, Minnick S, Price MD, Bendena W, Koladich P, and SS Tobe. Drosophila allatostatin decreases heart and gut contractions. Poster presented at the 29th Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience 1999, Miami Beach, Florida. In: Society for Neuroscience Abstracts. 1999. 25 (1-2): 1967.
Links of Interest
Graduate Group in Epidemiology, UC Davis
http://www.epi.ucdavis.edu
Emerging Infectious Diseases journal
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/index.htm
Entomological Society of America
http://www.entsoc.org
The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
http://www.astmh.org/journal.html
Lonely Planet guide to Peru
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/south_america/peru/
Sacramento Audubon Society
http://www.sacramentoaudubon.org
