Analyses of Contact Networks of Community Dogs on a University Campus in Nakhon Pathom, Thailand
Free-roaming dogs have been identified as an important reservoir of rabies in many countries including Thailand. There is a need for novel insights to improve current rabies control strategies in these countries. Network analysis is commonly used to study the interactions between individuals or orga...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-11-01
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| Series: | Veterinary Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2306-7381/8/12/299 |
| _version_ | 1797500039028801536 |
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| author | Tipsarp Kittisiam Waraphon Phimpraphai Suwicha Kasemsuwan Krishna Kumar Thakur |
| author_facet | Tipsarp Kittisiam Waraphon Phimpraphai Suwicha Kasemsuwan Krishna Kumar Thakur |
| author_sort | Tipsarp Kittisiam |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Free-roaming dogs have been identified as an important reservoir of rabies in many countries including Thailand. There is a need for novel insights to improve current rabies control strategies in these countries. Network analysis is commonly used to study the interactions between individuals or organizations and has been applied in preventive veterinary medicine. However, contact networks of domestic free-roaming dogs are mostly unexplored. The objective of this study was to explore the contact network of free-roaming dogs residing on a university campus. Three one-mode networks were created using co-appearances of dogs as edges. A two-mode network was created by associating the dog with the pre-defined area it was seen in. The average number of contacts a dog had was 6.74. The normalized degree for the weekend network was significantly higher compared to the weekday network. All one-mode networks displayed small-world network characteristics. Most dogs were observed in only one area. The average number of dogs which shared an area was 8.67. In this study, we demonstrated the potential of observational methods to create networks of contacts. The network information acquired can be further used in network modeling and designing targeted disease control programs. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:56:05Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-61110940db6a484ba581693a12c4f0ea |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2306-7381 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:56:05Z |
| publishDate | 2021-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Veterinary Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-61110940db6a484ba581693a12c4f0ea2023-11-23T10:55:45ZengMDPI AGVeterinary Sciences2306-73812021-11-0181229910.3390/vetsci8120299Analyses of Contact Networks of Community Dogs on a University Campus in Nakhon Pathom, ThailandTipsarp Kittisiam0Waraphon Phimpraphai1Suwicha Kasemsuwan2Krishna Kumar Thakur3Department of Veterinary Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kasetsart University, Kamphaeng Saen, Nakhon Pathom 73140, ThailandDepartment of Veterinary Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kasetsart University, Kamphaeng Saen, Nakhon Pathom 73140, ThailandDepartment of Veterinary Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kasetsart University, Kamphaeng Saen, Nakhon Pathom 73140, ThailandDepartment of Health Management, Atlantic Veterinary College, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, PE C1A 4P3, CanadaFree-roaming dogs have been identified as an important reservoir of rabies in many countries including Thailand. There is a need for novel insights to improve current rabies control strategies in these countries. Network analysis is commonly used to study the interactions between individuals or organizations and has been applied in preventive veterinary medicine. However, contact networks of domestic free-roaming dogs are mostly unexplored. The objective of this study was to explore the contact network of free-roaming dogs residing on a university campus. Three one-mode networks were created using co-appearances of dogs as edges. A two-mode network was created by associating the dog with the pre-defined area it was seen in. The average number of contacts a dog had was 6.74. The normalized degree for the weekend network was significantly higher compared to the weekday network. All one-mode networks displayed small-world network characteristics. Most dogs were observed in only one area. The average number of dogs which shared an area was 8.67. In this study, we demonstrated the potential of observational methods to create networks of contacts. The network information acquired can be further used in network modeling and designing targeted disease control programs.https://www.mdpi.com/2306-7381/8/12/299free-roaming dogscontact networknetwork analysis |
| spellingShingle | Tipsarp Kittisiam Waraphon Phimpraphai Suwicha Kasemsuwan Krishna Kumar Thakur Analyses of Contact Networks of Community Dogs on a University Campus in Nakhon Pathom, Thailand Veterinary Sciences free-roaming dogs contact network network analysis |
| title | Analyses of Contact Networks of Community Dogs on a University Campus in Nakhon Pathom, Thailand |
| title_full | Analyses of Contact Networks of Community Dogs on a University Campus in Nakhon Pathom, Thailand |
| title_fullStr | Analyses of Contact Networks of Community Dogs on a University Campus in Nakhon Pathom, Thailand |
| title_full_unstemmed | Analyses of Contact Networks of Community Dogs on a University Campus in Nakhon Pathom, Thailand |
| title_short | Analyses of Contact Networks of Community Dogs on a University Campus in Nakhon Pathom, Thailand |
| title_sort | analyses of contact networks of community dogs on a university campus in nakhon pathom thailand |
| topic | free-roaming dogs contact network network analysis |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2306-7381/8/12/299 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT tipsarpkittisiam analysesofcontactnetworksofcommunitydogsonauniversitycampusinnakhonpathomthailand AT waraphonphimpraphai analysesofcontactnetworksofcommunitydogsonauniversitycampusinnakhonpathomthailand AT suwichakasemsuwan analysesofcontactnetworksofcommunitydogsonauniversitycampusinnakhonpathomthailand AT krishnakumarthakur analysesofcontactnetworksofcommunitydogsonauniversitycampusinnakhonpathomthailand |