Dynamic Contact Networks of Residents of an Urban Jail in the Era of SARS-CoV-2

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Samuel M. Jenness, Emory University; Karina Wallrafen-Sam, Emory University; Isaac Schneider, Emory University; Shanika Kennedy, Emory University; Matthew J. Akiyama, Albert Einstein College of Medicine; Anne C Spaulding, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2023-10-02
• Publisher: NIH
• Publication Version: Preprint (Prior to Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity.
• License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.09.29.23296359
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: medRxiv
• Start Page: 23296359
• Grant/Funding Information: This work was supported by National Institutes of Health grant R01 AI138783 and a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Grant (INV-035562)
• Keywords: jails; network science; prisons; Social networks; incarceration; SARS-CoV-2
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Public Health

Abstract

Background In custodial settings such as jails and prisons, infectious disease transmission is heightened by factors such as overcrowding and limited healthcare access. Specific features of social contact networks within these settings have not been sufficiently characterized, especially in the context of a large-scale respiratory infectious disease outbreak. The study aims to quantify contact network dynamics within the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta, Georgia, to improve our understanding respiratory disease spread to informs public health interventions. Methods As part of the Surveillance by Wastewater and Nasal Self-collection of Specimens (SWANSS) study, jail roster data were utilized to construct social contact networks. Rosters included resident details, cell locations, and demographic information. This analysis involved 6,702 residents over 140,901 person days. Network statistics, including degree, mixing, and turnover rates, were assessed across age groups, race/ethnicities, and jail floors. We compared outcomes for two distinct periods (January 2022 and April 2022) to understand potential responses in network structures during and after the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant peak. Results We found high cross-sectional network degree at both cell and block levels, indicative of substantial daily contacts. While mean degree increased with age, older residents exhibited lower degree during the Omicron peak, suggesting potential quarantine measures. Block-level networks demonstrated higher mean degrees than cell-level networks. Cumulative degree distributions for both levels increased from January to April, indicating heightened contacts after the outbreak. Assortative age mixing was strong, especially for residents aged 20–29. Dynamic network statistics illustrated increased degrees over time, emphasizing the potential for disease spread, albeit with a lower growth rate during the Omicron peak. Conclusions The contact networks within the Fulton County Jail presented ideal conditions for infectious disease transmission. Despite some reduction in network characteristics during the Omicron peak, the potential for disease spread remained high. Age-specific mixing patterns suggested unintentional age segregation, potentially limiting disease spread to older residents. The study underscores the need for ongoing monitoring of contact networks in carceral settings and provides valuable insights for epidemic modeling and intervention strategies, including quarantine, depopulation, and vaccination. This network analysis offers a foundation for understanding disease dynamics in carceral environments.