Patterns of sexual mixing and heterogeneity in the
number of sexual partners can have a huge effect on the spread of a
sexually transmitted disease (STD). The sexual mixing network
identifies all partnerships within a population over a given period and
is a powerful tool in the study of such infections. Previous models
assumed all links within the network to be concurrent active
partnerships. We present a novel modelling approach in which we adapt
the notion of a sexual contact network to a monogamous population by
allowing the nature of the links to change. We use the underlying
network to represent potential sexual partnerships, only some
of which are active at any one time. Thus serial monogamy can be
modelled while maintaining the patterns of mixing displayed by the
population.
Author Keywords: Author Keywords: Pair-wise
correlation model; Concurrency; Polygamy; Mixing patterns; Chlamydia |