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22 June 2020 | Story Andre Damons | Photo Anja Aucamp
Herkulaas Combrink.

A lot can be said about forecasting and modelling, its accuracy, and how it works. Forecasting and modelling provide any decision-maker with plausible predictions or outcomes to give some kind of estimated consequence. Without this field of science, planning would be difficult, as one would simply make decisions without knowing what might potentially happen to a specific cohort, market, or product. Forecasting as a concept can be seen as a set of mathematical, statistical and/or computational tools applied to a set of assumptions about something.

This is according to Herkulaas Combrink of the Centre for Teaching and Learning at the University of the Free State (UFS) and PhD candidate in Computer Science at the University of Pretoria (UP), following the South African government’s modelling of how many people would contract COVID-19 and die, which has come under fire in recent times – with one expert saying it was “flawed and illogical and made wild assumptions”. 

Combrink is of the opinion that South Africa – by using the MASHA Consortium – is using the best minds that the country has to offer. The fact that the leadership took a pragmatic stance and reached out to the scientific community has mitigated a medical disaster in a healthcare system that was not ready a few months ago.

“The government is looking at as many models as they can, but is working very closely with MASHA and the CSIR” says Combrink, who has been involved in clinical surveillance, and also forms part of the modelling team during his secondment to the Free State Department of Health. 

Prof Shabhir Madhi, the former head of the SA National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), recently said that the initial modelling and fatality estimates were “back-of-envelope calculations”.

According to a news report, the government’s initial model also predicted that 600 COVID-19 patients would need treatment in intensive care units (ICU) in SA by April 1. But by April 18, the last publicly released figures showed that there were 32 COVID-19 patients in ICU.

Tried-and-tested models
The models currently used are tried-and-tested epidemiological models, mathematical models, and economic forecasting models that have been used in the past. It has now been calibrated to the specifications that we know of this disease, which come from publications. The reason why you would use more than one model is to compare models retrospectively, so that you can see what is going on.

“The government immediately reached out to the best minds in the country, and with the aid of the consortium, took a stance to throw scenarios at the different models and stress test them so that they could know that they are using the best possible models to assist in resource management and decision-making. If government responded in a different way and didn’t reach out, we might not have had a lockdown and subsequently would probably have been in a different position where the country wouldn’t be ready.” 

“We can say with a high degree of confidence that the lockdown really helps to ease and flatten the curve in the country. In light of flattening the curve, the right decisions have been made,” says Combrink.

COVID-19 still new
Unfortunately, says Combrink, during the COVID-19 pandemic, there was not enough information related to the disease assumptions and it lacked the rigour and perfection associated with the already existing prediction models. Although it may feel like a lifetime, the first COVID-19 case was only reported in December 2019. Add to this that not all the parameters related to the disease were known in January, it was challenging to determine all the ‘ins and outs’ of this disease. 

“Luckily, the mathematics and statistics of an outbreak have been extensively studied, and as a result, we only needed to use the correct parameters to estimate the spread of the disease in some of the outbreak models. The Minister of Health, Dr Zweli Mkhize, and the national modellers led by Dr Harry Moultrie, were transparent with not only their projections, but also how they derived their conclusions and what parameters they used,” says Combrink.

The most important thing in modelling is to calibrate according to what is known about the disease and people, explains Combrink. “It is impossible to predict people and a disease100% accurately, because you don’t always know how a virus will react to every single person’s body and you can’t predict human behaviour.” 

“So, there is a certain degree of error and a certain degree of confidence that lies within each model, and that is why you evaluate these models on a regular basis. And this is important. You will never be able to say this is the exact number. Just like the weather. If the weather patterns were predicted to be 12 degrees tomorrow, and it turns out to be 16 degrees, you at least packed a jersey. You knew it was going to be cold. The chances that the weather predicts that it will be 12 and it turns out to be 57 degrees, is virtually zero. It gives you more or less an indication what to prepare for

Models are useful, but can also be wrong
Combrink says if you want to apply any model, you need to understand the assumptions and the limitations of the models. Given a certain set of criteria – what are the assumptions you are making and what are the expected outcomes – you can only act according to that. He says, as time goes by, we can now see that there are some models that yield much better results because we can now compare what was predicted two months ago and what is actually happening. 
 “Some models are useful. We can get a better understanding of the pandemic’s possible trajectories or gain an understanding of the impact that different interventions have made. Models are used for decision-making. These decision-making strategies can save lives. That is the purpose of models and modelling during these times.”

Combrink uses the weather forecast to explain how modelling works and that models can be wrong. “Yes, models are wrong all the time. Take the concept of weather as an example. How many times has the weather forecast predicted that there is an 80% chance of rain, and then it doesn’t rain? Models can give you a certain degree of confidence in an outcome related to a specific event or scenario, so that you, with some degree of confidence, can go forth and plan accordingly.” 

“However, models can’t tell you what exactly will happen tomorrow, or the day after. It is not a crystal ball, and it is not a mirror into the future, but it can give you an indication of what is likely possible related to a specific scenario if you used the right variables. Let us consider that there is an 80% chance of rain in the weather forecast; will you a) go to work without an umbrella or b) with an umbrella? If it doesn’t rain, you are at least prepared for the rain because you took your umbrella. If you didn’t take the umbrella and it does rain, you may run into trouble because you did not appreciate the warning of the weather forecast. I think it is this concept that makes modelling so powerful. You can use it as a tool to prepare for things, in the event that it does happen, with a certain degree of confidence. Just like the previous example, there is also a 20% chance that it might not rain, but wouldn’t you want to be prepared?” explains Combrink. 
 
Models are tools that can be used to base decisions on
No one truly knows how the pandemic will play out, and according to Combrink, it can be said with a high degree of confidence that if nothing is done about the pandemic, we know how it would turn out from a healthcare perspective. 
“If you look at some of the global projections they gave months ago (in January and February) and compare it to what they said for March and April, you can see that they predicted, with a fairly good degree of confidence, what actually happened in certain countries. We have a good idea in terms of numbers and how it will play out, but what we will never know is what the impact will be on the socio-economic status of a person, the economy, and the impact on other diseases.”

“We do not know what is going to happen when it comes to mental health and COVID-19, for example. This is why modelling is a multidimensional approach, requiring inputs from various fields. Models can help us in the same way the weather forecast does. It is a tool that we can use to base certain decisions on, to be more prepared, because without it we won’t know to pack an ‘umbrella’ if it is predicted to rain or pack a ‘jersey’ if it is projected to cool down.”

News Archive

Wildlife researcher in ground-breaking global research on giraffes
2017-10-20

Description: Giraffe read more Tags: giraffe, conservation, Dr Francois Deacon, Last of the Long Necks, Catching Giants 

Dr Deacon from the Department of Animal, Wildlife and Grassland
Sciences at the University of the Free State (UFS),
lead a multispecialist research group to catch
and collar giraffe to collect data that will
contribute to the conservation of these animals.
Photo: Prof Nico Smith


Capturing 51 giraffes without any injuries or mortalities to collect data that will contribute to the conservation of these animals is not for everyone. Capturing a giraffe with minimum risk to the animal and the people involved, requires extraordinary skill, planning, and teamwork. “This exercise is a dangerous task, since a well-placed kick from these large and extremely powerful animals can cause serious injuries. Early in October was the first time that giraffes were captured on such a large scale,” said wildlife researcher Dr Francois Deacon.
 
Dr Deacon from the Department of Animal, Wildlife and Grassland Sciences at the University of the Free State (UFS), led a multispecialist research group of over 30 people from 10 different countries to collect information about these little-known animals.

UFS first to collar giraffe
Taking a global approach, the team responsible for this intricate process consisted of wildlife biologists, conservationists, interdisciplinary scientists and five specialist veterinarians who are experienced in catching and working with wild animals. Specialised drugs sponsored by Dr Kobus Raath from Wildlife Pharmaceuticals, tested for the first time and administered with a dart gun were used to tranquillise the giraffe, which then allowed for the GPS collars to be fitted.  These collars, sponsored by Africa Wildlife Tracking, enable the researchers to record the location of individual giraffe for up to two years, give 24/7 readings, irrespective of weather conditions. In this cost-effective manner, data can be gathered on climatic factors, giraffe communication, social behaviour, home ranges, seasonal movements, human and giraffe interaction zones, as well as migration routes and the duration of the migration process. The collars will effectively be used to locate individuals to collect faecal samples for hormonal cycles, stress hormones, nutrient deficiencies based on diet and also internal parasites. 

“This knowledge we gain is the key to all keys in saving this iconic animal from becoming extinct,” said Dr Deacon.

Six years ago, during a pilot study, Dr Deacon was the first researcher to fit giraffes with a GPS collar. Collaring is less invasive and allows researchers to collect detailed samples. Not only was extensive knowledge and experience gained during the process, but he also initiated interest from the filmmaker and conservationist, Ashley Scott Davison, executive producer of Iniosante Inc. 

Getting to tell the story

Davison, who was doing research for a film on giraffe learnt about the silent extinction of the species. In a great number of countries giraffe numbers have been declining by as much as 40% over only a few years since 2000. Today West Africa has between 400 to 600 giraffe left while four out of five giraffes were lost in East Africa since 2000. This is a considerable decline in numbers and poses a real threat to the survival of the species in the longer term. At the end of 2016, the giraffe was classified as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red Data list.

According to Davison, children in school learn about the destruction caused by ivory poaching and habitat loss. But in Africa today, there are six times as many elephants as there are giraffes. 

In the process to find out more about this majestic species Davison learnt of Dr Deacon’s work. After being introduced to and spending time with Dr Deacon, Davison not only describes the UFS as the leader in the conservation of giraffes but he returned to the university, three times to help build a dedicated research team to address unanswered research questions within various disciplines.

Flowing from the affiliation with the UFS is Iniosante’s award-winning production of a documentary, “Last of the Longnecks”. The film has received several awards, including official selection at the 2017 Global Peace Film Festival, the Wildlife Conservation Film Festival and the Environmental Film Festival in the US capital. 

The film team accompanied the multispecialist research team last week to gather footage for a follow-up documentary, “Catching Giants”. This film is expected to air in middle 2018.

 Video clip of the event: https://www.dropbox.com/s/d3kv9we690bwwto/giraffe_UFS_revision-01a.mp4?dl=0

Video clip of the event: RooistoelTV

Former articles on this topic:

18 Nov 2016: http://www.ufs.ac.za/templates/news-archive-item?news=7964 
23 August 2016: http://www.ufs.ac.za/templates/news-archive-item?news=7856 
9 March 2016:Giraffe research broadcast on National Geographic channel
18 Sept 2015 Researchers reach out across continents in giraffe research
29 May 2015: Researchers international leaders in satellite tracking in the wildlife environment

 

 

 

 

 

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