CLUSTERING OF DISEASE

Formulas which are useful in studying disease epidemicity are presented, and the combinatorial and asymptotic rationales of the underlying model are explored. The Ederer-Meyer-Mantel cluster test can be used to see if clustering of a disease exists in time and space; if clustering exists, then our cluster model may be used to advantage on the same data in order to characterize key epidemiologic features of the disease. Applying the model to type-A hepatitis, we describe a new epidemic pattern of this disease. We introduce a new mathematical rationale for epidemic processes, and we provide a convenient framework for describing disease clusters. © 1979.