Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Neill, James, Lester, Rebecca, Bakali, Winnie, Roberts, Gareth, Feasey, Nicholas, Chapman, Lloyd A. C., Jewell, Chris
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.11836
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866915295445123072
author Neill, James
Lester, Rebecca
Bakali, Winnie
Roberts, Gareth
Feasey, Nicholas
Chapman, Lloyd A. C.
Jewell, Chris
author_facet Neill, James
Lester, Rebecca
Bakali, Winnie
Roberts, Gareth
Feasey, Nicholas
Chapman, Lloyd A. C.
Jewell, Chris
contents Infectious disease transmission is often modelled by discrete-valued stochastic state-transition processes. Due to a lack of complete data, Bayesian inference for these models often relies on data-augmentation techniques. These techniques are often inefficient or time consuming to implement. We introduce a novel data-augmentation Markov chain Monte Carlo method for discrete-time individual-based epidemic models, which we call the Rippler algorithm. This method uses the transmission model in the proposal step of the Metropolis-Hastings algorithm, rather than in the accept-reject step. We test the Rippler algorithm on simulated data and apply it to data on extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing E. coli collected in Blantyre, Malawi. We compare the Rippler algorithm to two other commonly used Bayesian inference methods for partially observed epidemic data, and find that it has a good balance between mixing speed and computational complexity.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2504_11836
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Non-centering for discrete-valued state transition models: an application to ESBL-producing E. coli transmission in Malawi
Neill, James
Lester, Rebecca
Bakali, Winnie
Roberts, Gareth
Feasey, Nicholas
Chapman, Lloyd A. C.
Jewell, Chris
Methodology
Infectious disease transmission is often modelled by discrete-valued stochastic state-transition processes. Due to a lack of complete data, Bayesian inference for these models often relies on data-augmentation techniques. These techniques are often inefficient or time consuming to implement. We introduce a novel data-augmentation Markov chain Monte Carlo method for discrete-time individual-based epidemic models, which we call the Rippler algorithm. This method uses the transmission model in the proposal step of the Metropolis-Hastings algorithm, rather than in the accept-reject step. We test the Rippler algorithm on simulated data and apply it to data on extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing E. coli collected in Blantyre, Malawi. We compare the Rippler algorithm to two other commonly used Bayesian inference methods for partially observed epidemic data, and find that it has a good balance between mixing speed and computational complexity.
title Non-centering for discrete-valued state transition models: an application to ESBL-producing E. coli transmission in Malawi
topic Methodology
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.11836