The research team also included Todd Easton, associate professor of industrial and manufacturing systems engineering, and Sohini Roy Chowdhury, Ali Sydney and Mina Youssef, all K-State graduate students in electrical engineering. The National Science Foundation funded the work through K-State's EpiCenter, also known as the Center for Complex Network Approach to Epidemic Modeling and Simulation.

Schumm said the survey approach is a cost-effective way for other communities to replicate and develop their own strategies for mitigating the spread of disease. "Having their own plans is important," he said. "Research has shown mitigation strategies used in urban areas are not as effective in rural areas because of differences in population and contact patterns."

New research initiatives at the EpiCenter include a study supported by K-State's Center for Engagement and Community Development, where the group is conducting a similar survey campaign in Chanute and Neosho County, Kan.

"The Chanute survey is taking a more zoonotic approach," Scoglio said. "We've teamed up with K-State's Center for Excellence in Emerging and Zoonotic Diseases and the National Agricultural Biosecurity Center. As a consequence, our new surveys ask questions about how much contact residents have with domestic animals, livestock and wildlife."

"The survey also delves more deeply into respondents' health, asking if they got a flu shot and if they take supplements like zinc and vitamin D to see if there are any correlations in flu prevention," Schumm said. "The surveys are also finding out what time of day people are most likely to visit the community's most popular locations and how many people they come in close contact with there."

SOURCE University EpiCenter research