The chain of infection, contacts, and model parametrization

The chain of infection, contacts, and model parametrization Book Chapter

Tennenbaum, S. (2009). The chain of infection, contacts, and model parametrization . 89-102. 10.1007/978-90-481-2313-1_4

Contact rates and transmission probabilities are based on complicated environmental conditions, and biological and social dynamics. There are many types of models that capture different aspects of these dynamics. Estimating contact related parameter values and transmission probabilities requires a good understanding of the details of the transmission process and the class of model being used to describe it. In this paper we review the basic classes of models, the connection between the chain of infection and the descriptions of the infection process including the meaning of contacts in the various modeling approaches. Some suggestions as to ways to better tie together the biological and mechanistic aspects of the infection process and the more phenomenological descriptions of model parameters are discussed. © 2009 Springer Netherlands.