Cox R, McIntyre K M, Sanchez J, Setzkorn C, Baylis M, Revie C W
Centre for Veterinary Epidemiological Research, Atlantic Veterinary College, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, PE, Canada.
Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Institute of Infection and Global Health, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK.
Transbound Emerg Dis. 2016 Feb;63(1):79-91. doi: 10.1111/tbed.12221. Epub 2014 Apr 16.
Disease surveillance must assess the relative importance of pathogen hazards. Here, we use the Hirsch index (h-index) as a novel method to identify and rank infectious pathogens that are likely to be a hazard to human health in the North American region. This bibliometric index was developed to quantify an individual's scientific research output and was recently used as a proxy measure for pathogen impact. Analysis of more than 3000 infectious organisms indicated that 651 were human pathogen species that had been recorded in the North American region. The h-index of these pathogens ranged from 0 to 584. The h-index of emerging pathogens was greater than non-emerging pathogens as was the h-index of frequently pathogenic pathogens when compared to non-pathogenic pathogens. As expected, the h-index of pathogens varied over time between 1960 and 2011. We discuss how the h-index can contribute to pathogen prioritization and as an indicator of pathogen emergence.
疾病监测必须评估病原体危害的相对重要性。在此，我们使用赫希指数（h指数）作为一种新方法，来识别和排列可能对北美地区人类健康构成危害的传染性病原体。这个文献计量学指标是为了量化个人的科研产出而开发的，最近被用作病原体影响力的替代指标。对3000多种传染性生物体的分析表明，其中651种是在北美地区有记录的人类病原体物种。这些病原体的h指数范围为0至584。新兴病原体的h指数高于非新兴病原体，与非致病性病原体相比，常见致病性病原体的h指数也是如此。不出所料，1960年至2011年期间，病原体的h指数随时间而变化。我们讨论了h指数如何有助于病原体的优先排序，并作为病原体出现的一个指标。
