Federico Costa, PhD
Associate Professor Adjunct of Epidemiology (Microbial Diseases)DownloadHi-Res Photo
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Associate Professor Adjunct of Epidemiology, Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases
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Associate Professor Adjunct of Epidemiology (Microbial Diseases)
Associate Professor Adjunct of Epidemiology, Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases
Biography
Professor Federico Costa is interested in eco-epidemiological drivers of zoonotic diseases in urban environments using intensive field and laboratory data. Current areas of interest include mechanisms involved in the transmission of leptospirosis and the ecological and sociological factors that affect the likelihood of human and animal infection in Brazil and the evaluation of effectiveness of basic sanitation and rodent control based intervention to prevent leptospirosis. Recently, Dr. Costa has coordinated field and hospital based studies in Salvador, Brazil to respond to the recent outbreak of Zika virus infection and Congenital Zika Syndrome.
Last Updated on April 07, 2025.
Appointments
Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases
Associate Professor AdjunctPrimaryEpidemiology of Microbial Diseases
Associate Professor AdjunctPrimary
Other Departments & Organizations
- All Institutions
- Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases
- Yale School of Public Health
Education & Training
- PhD
- Centro de Pesquisas Goncalo Moniz-FIOCRUZ (2010)
- MSc
- Universidad Nacional de San Martin (2006)
Research
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Overview
- Disease determinants for urban leptospirosis
- Natural history of urban leptospirosis
- Eco-epidemiology of urban leptospirosis
- Optimal control strategies for rodent-borne zoonoses
- Burden of Diseases estimation
Medical Research Interests
Brazil; Dengue Virus; Epidemiology; Leptospirosis; Orthohantavirus
Public Health Interests
Health Equity, Disparities, Social Determinants and Justice; Global Health; Mosquito-borne Diseases; Zoonotic Diseases
ORCID
0000-0001-6951-2336
Research at a Glance
Yale Co-Authors
Frequent collaborators of Federico Costa's published research.
Publications Timeline
A big-picture view of Federico Costa's research output by year.
Research Interests
Research topics Federico Costa is interested in exploring.
Albert Ko
Mitermayer Reis, MD
Peter Diggle, PhD
Jamie Childs, ScD
Michael Kane, PhD, MA, MS
Adam V Wisnewski, PhD, D(ABMLI)
50Publications
3,579Citations
Brazil
Leptospirosis
Publications
2026
A Gamification Proposal to Support Crowdsourcing and Collaborative Mapping in Covid-19 Spatialization and Signaling
Arouca M, Ribeiro A, Amorim A, Barreto M, da Cruz Neves I, Brito R, Khalil H, Costa F, Vieira V, Durão F. A Gamification Proposal to Support Crowdsourcing and Collaborative Mapping in Covid-19 Spatialization and Signaling. Journal On Interactive Systems 2026, 17: 225-243. DOI: 10.5753/jis.2026.5440.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsEffort expectancyUnified Theory of AcceptanceTheory of AcceptanceUnified theoryUser studyUse of technologyGamification proposalGame elementsPlatform adoptionSocial influenceCollaborative mappingCrowdsourcingTransmission predictorsPlatformSpatial dataBehavioral intentionGeographic dataUTAUTUsersGamificationMapsVulnerable urban communitiesMetagenomic surveillance reveals off-season circulation of respiratory viruses during the COVID-19 pandemic in Salvador, Brazil
Aguilar Ticona J, Amorim Santos L, Meng X, Nery N, Fofana M, de Moraes L, Morais Strobel I, Vitoriano R, Silveira Cucco M, Andrade Belitardo E, Thakku G, Cruz J, Detweiler A, Neff N, Tato C, Reis M, Costa F, Cummings D, Ko A, Khouri R. Metagenomic surveillance reveals off-season circulation of respiratory viruses during the COVID-19 pandemic in Salvador, Brazil. New Microbes And New Infections 2026, 70: 101717. PMID: 41732520, PMCID: PMC12925072, DOI: 10.1016/j.nmni.2026.101717.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricConceptsRespiratory syncytial virusRespiratory virusesInfluenza ASyncytial virusMultiplex RT-qPCRSARS-CoV-2Circulation of respiratory virusesPre-existing immunityOmicron BAHuman parainfluenza virusNegative RT-qPCR resultsSeasonal human coronavirusesRespiratory virus transmissionSymptomatic episodesParainfluenza virusInfluenza peakInfluenzaCo-InfectionRespiratory symptomsSymptomatic participantsNasal swabsSeasonal coronavirusesSymptomatic individualsSecondary attack rateHousehold visits
2025
KNOWLEDGE LEVEL ON LEPTOSPIROSIS DISEASE AMONG PREUNIVERSITY STUDENTS
AHMAD NAZRI M, COSTA F, SHAFIE N. KNOWLEDGE LEVEL ON LEPTOSPIROSIS DISEASE AMONG PREUNIVERSITY STUDENTS. Journal Of Sustainability Science And Management 2025, 20: 2548-2555. DOI: 10.46754/jssm.2025.12.001.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchSeroprevalence and risk factors for Toxoplasma gondii infection in wild, domestic and companion animals in urban informal settlements from Salvador, Brazil
Bazan L, Argibay H, Borges-Silva W, Pita Gondim L, Dos Santos Mattos T, Santana J, da Silva E, Begon M, Khalil H, Costa F, de Oliveira Carneiro I. Seroprevalence and risk factors for Toxoplasma gondii infection in wild, domestic and companion animals in urban informal settlements from Salvador, Brazil. PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases 2025, 19: e0013303. PMID: 41401226, PMCID: PMC12725734, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0013303.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsAssociated with T. gondii seroprevalenceSynanthropic animalsDomestic animalsIndirect immunofluorescent antibody testT. gondii infectionImmunofluorescent antibody testToxoplasma gondii infectionCommercial feedZoonotic parasitesT. gondiiHomemade dietToxoplasma gondiiDomestic catsZoonotic riskPet managementCompanion animalsGondii infectionDogsHorsesAnimal speciesAntibody testSeroprevalenceGeneralized linear mixed modelsChickenCatsSocioeconomic vulnerability and the management of domestic animal hosts in urban environments: a one health issue
Oliveira Carneiro I, Mattos T, Freitas S, Hlavac N, Begon M, Costa F, Khalil H, Argibay H. Socioeconomic vulnerability and the management of domestic animal hosts in urban environments: a one health issue. BMC Veterinary Research 2025, 21: 699. PMID: 41390417, PMCID: PMC12702158, DOI: 10.1186/s12917-025-05062-7.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsAnimal health measuresParasitological testsPopulation of dogsTransmission of zoonotic pathogensDomestic animal hostsPrivate veterinary servicesIndividual animal variabilityValues of HctAnimal variabilityParasitological parametersVeterinary servicesAnimal healthParasitological studiesZoonotic pathogensPathogen reservoirsWild animalsDogsHematological analysisCatsMixed generalized linear modelsAnimal hostsStreet accessAkaike information criterionCollected bloodAnimalsUsing step selection functions to analyse human mobility using telemetry data in infectious disease epidemiology: a case study of leptospirosis
Cuenca P, Souza F, do Nascimento R, da Silva A, Eyre M, Santana J, de Oliveira D, de Souza E, Palma F, de Carvalho Santiago D, dos Santos Ribeiro P, dos Santos P, Khalil H, Read J, Cremonese C, Costa F, Giorgi E. Using step selection functions to analyse human mobility using telemetry data in infectious disease epidemiology: a case study of leptospirosis. ELife 2025, 14: rp107153. PMID: 41324251, PMCID: PMC12668668, DOI: 10.7554/elife.107153.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsNational InstituteEnvironmental risk factorsUrban slumsNational Institute of Allergy and Infectious DiseasesWellcome TrustRisk factorsInfectious disease epidemiologyTelemetry dataMovement patternsDisease epidemiologyHuman movementLikelihood of movementInfectious diseasesStep-selection functionsResearch CouncilTransmission of infectious diseasesAnimal movement ecologyDisease researchDaytime hoursEnvironmental factorsPositive individualsBrazilian National Research CouncilMovement ecologyIndividualsEnvironmental driversHuman Brucellosis in Tocantins, Brazil: spatiotemporal distribution and epidemiological profile
de Tocantins S, de Oliveira I, Mise Y, Lee Y, Zeppelini C, Souza F, Machado G, de Oliveira M, Costa F. Human Brucellosis in Tocantins, Brazil: spatiotemporal distribution and epidemiological profile. Revista De La Sociedad Científica Del Paraguay 2025, 30: 67-74. DOI: 10.32480/rscp.2025.30.2.6774.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsSerum agglutination testClinical characteristicsHuman brucellosisSevere long-term complicationsLong-term complicationsDiagnostic capabilitiesSevere complicationsHuman casesTesticular infectionUnder-diagnosedEffective treatmentEpidemiological profileIncidence of brucellosisUnder-surveillanceAgglutination testGram-negative bacteriaUnderreported diseaseZoonotic diseaseDiseaseComplicationsAnimal casesBrucellosisGenus BrucellaIncidence of human brucellosisInfectious diseasesUsing step selection functions to analyse human mobility using telemetry data in infectious disease epidemiology: a case study of leptospirosis
Ruiz Cuenca P, Souza F, Coutinho do Nascimento R, Goncalves da Silva A, Eyre M, Santana J, de Oliveira D, Ribeiro de Souza E, Palma F, de Carvalho Santiago D, dos Santos Ribeiro P, Ferreira dos Santos P, Khalil H, Read J, Cremonese C, Costa F, Giorgi E. Using step selection functions to analyse human mobility using telemetry data in infectious disease epidemiology: a case study of leptospirosis. ELife 2025, 14 DOI: 10.7554/elife.107153.3.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsUrban slum settingsHigh riskNational InstituteEnvironmental risk factorsHuman movementSlum settingsUrban slumsRisk of infectionNational Institute of Allergy and Infectious DiseasesGPS loggersWellcome TrustRisk factorsInfectious disease epidemiologyTelemetry dataInfection riskMovement patternsStudy areaWomenSelection functionResource selectionHigh risk of infectionDisease epidemiologyLikelihood of movementRiskInfectious diseasesIncorporating Machine Learning Techniques to Enhance Rodent Surveillance in Marginalized Urban Communities
Souza F, Awoniyi A, da Silva R, Nery N, Oliveira M, Zeppelini C, Thé G, Hacker K, Eyre M, Argibay H, Ko A, Costa F, Khalil H. Incorporating Machine Learning Techniques to Enhance Rodent Surveillance in Marginalized Urban Communities. Ecology And Evolution 2025, 15: e72382. PMID: 41179343, PMCID: PMC12575270, DOI: 10.1002/ece3.72382.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricConceptsMachine learning techniquesFeature vectorLearning techniquesBinary imageStructure of high-dimensional dataRGB color imagesHigh-dimensional dataDimensionality reduction methodsIndependent component analysisOriginal imageGrayscale imagesColor imagesClassification methodExploratory data analysisGlobal thresholdOtsu methodComponent analysisMachineImagesReduction methodPrincipal component analysisRGBPCAHuman fecal markers in environmental waters and association with indicators of human and rodent infections in urban Salvador, Bahia, Brazil
Souza F, Zhu K, de Oliveira D, Nery Jr N, Cruz J, Venegas-Vargas C, Brown J, Aguilar Ticona J, Santana J, Reis M, Ko A, Costa F, Stauber C. Human fecal markers in environmental waters and association with indicators of human and rodent infections in urban Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. PLOS Water 2025, 4: e0000349. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pwat.0000349.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsFecal source trackingHuman mitochondrial DNAConcentration of mtDNASurveillance of pathogensMtDNA markersMitochondrial DNAMtDNASource trackingHuman fecal markerPathogen exposurePathogen circulationEnvironmental waterLow-income communitiesPathogensZoonotic threatEnvironmental surveillanceHigher concentrationsVulnerable communitiesEffective public health interventionsFecal markersMarkersPublic health interventionsHealth threatProactive response
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