Flu vaccination could be targeted simply at the most gregarious individuals in any community, according to a study of medical students.
The researchers reached their conclusion after plotting relationships between more than 200 students in a single medical school in Lancaster, UK.
The tested two ideas. One involved vaccination people with the most connections, the second involved identifying those at the centre of networks – those with the most "betweenness."
Using computer simulations, they tested the effects on 1,500 possible outbreaks – with students being selected at random to be the first to ‘contract’ the virus.
They have reported their findings in The Lancet.
The researchers, led by Rhiannon Edge, of Lancaster University, say that targeting vaccines towards those with the most "betweenness" and those with the most connections – "degree" – both seemed effective.
They write: "Our results add to a small pool of evidence supporting targeting vaccination of individuals according to betweenness in an attempt to reduce the spread of influenza.
"However, in small, densely connected populations, vaccination according to degree might be preferential because of the rapid convergence and the relative ease of locating individuals with a high degree versus those with high betweenness."
Lancet 19 November 2014
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