Complexity of the Basic Reproduction Number (R<sub>0</sub>)
Abstract
The basic reproduction number (R<sub>0</sub>), also called the basic reproduction ratio or rate or the basic reproductive rate, is an epidemiologic metric used to describe the contagiousness or transmissibility of infectious agents. R<sub>0</sub> is affected by numerous biological, sociobehavioral, and environmental factors that govern pathogen transmission and, therefore, is usually estimated with various types of complex mathematical models, which make R<sub>0</sub> easily misrepresented, misinterpreted, and misapplied. R<sub>0</sub> is not a biological constant for a pathogen, a rate over time, or a measure of disease severity, and R<sub>0</sub> cannot be modified through vaccination campaigns. R<sub>0</sub> is rarely measured directly, and modeled R<sub>0</sub> values are dependent on model structures and assumptions. Some R<sub>0</sub> values reported in the scientific literature are likely obsolete. R<sub>0</sub> must be estimated, reported, and applied with great caution because this basic metric is far from simple.
MeSH terms
Funding
- George Mason University
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