Transmission dynamics and control of severe acute respiratory syndrome

Science. 2003 Jun 20;300(5627):1966-70. doi: 10.1126/science.1086616. Epub 2003 May 23.

Abstract

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a recently described illness of humans that has spread widely over the past 6 months. With the use of detailed epidemiologic data from Singapore and epidemic curves from other settings, we estimated the reproductive number for SARS in the absence of interventions and in the presence of control efforts. We estimate that a single infectious case of SARS will infect about three secondary cases in a population that has not yet instituted control measures. Public-health efforts to reduce transmission are expected to have a substantial impact on reducing the size of the epidemic.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Contact Tracing
  • Disease Outbreaks* / prevention & control
  • Disease Outbreaks* / statistics & numerical data
  • Epidemiologic Methods*
  • Hong Kong / epidemiology
  • Humans
  • Mathematics
  • Models, Statistical*
  • Patient Isolation
  • Probability
  • Public Health Practice*
  • Quarantine
  • Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome / epidemiology
  • Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome / prevention & control*
  • Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome / transmission*
  • Singapore / epidemiology
  • Stochastic Processes