Combining epidemiological and ecological methods to quantify social effects on E. coli transmission

Enteric microparasites like Escherichia coli utilize multiple transmission pathways to propagate within and between host populations. Characterizing the relative transmission risk attributable to host social relationships, and direct physical contact between individuals is paramount for understanding how microparasites like E. coli spread within affected communities and estimating colonization rates. To measure these effects, we carried out commensal E. coli transmission experiments in two cattle (Bos taurus) herds, wherein all individuals were equipped with real-time location tracking devices. Following transmission experiments in this model system, we derived temporally dynamic social and contact networks from location data. Estimated social affiliations, and dyadic contact frequencies during transmission experiments informed pairwise accelerated failure time models that we used to quantify effects of these sociobehavioral variables on weekly E. coli colonization risk in these populat...