Unraveling R 0

Considerations for Public Health Applications

Bibliographic Data

ID11018673
AuthorsBenjamin Ridenhour (At the time of this study, Benjamin Ridenhour and Jessica M. Kowalik were with the Eck Institute for Global Health, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN. David K. Shay was with the Influenza Division, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA.), Benjamin J Ridenhour (0000-0001-8271-4629, University of Notre Dame), Jessica M Kowalik (At the time of this study, Benjamin Ridenhour and Jessica M. Kowalik were with the Eck Institute for Global Health, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN. David K. Shay was with the Influenza Division, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA.), David K Shay (0000-0001-9619-4820, At the time of this study, Benjamin Ridenhour and Jessica M. Kowalik were with the Eck Institute for Global Health, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN. David K. Shay was with the Influenza Division, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA.)
Year2018
Volume108
IssueS6
PagesS445-S454
Publication date2018-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Journal of Public Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0090-0036 • E-ISSN: 1541-0048
PublisherAmerican Public Health Association (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.2105/ajph.2013.301704r
PMID24328646
OpenAlexW1888228061
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited37

We assessed public health use of R 0 , the basic reproduction number, which estimates the speed at which a disease is capable of spreading in a population. These estimates are of great public health interest, as evidenced during the 2009 influenza A (H1N1) virus pandemic. We reviewed methods commonly used to estimate R 0 , examined their practical utility, and assessed how estimates of this epidemiological parameter can inform mitigation strategy decisions. In isolation, R 0 is a suboptimal gauge of infectious disease dynamics across populations; other disease parameters may provide more useful information. Nonetheless, estimation of R 0 for a particular population is useful for understanding transmission in the study population. Considered in the context of other epidemiologically important parameters, the value of R 0 may lie in better understanding an outbreak and in preparing a public health response

Basic reproduction number · Bioinformatics · Biology · Context (archaeology) · Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) · Disease · Environmental health · Estimation · Geography · Infectious disease (medical specialty) · Isolation (microbiology) · Outbreak · Pandemic · Pathology · Population · Population health · Public health · COVID-19 epidemiological studies · Epidemiology · Influenza Virus Research Studies · Medicine · Viral Infections and Outbreaks Research · Virology

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