title: Transmission dynamics and control of severe acute respiratory syndrome.
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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lipsitch
authors.forename: Ted
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Cohen
authors.forename: Ben
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cooper
authors.forename: James M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Robins
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Lyn
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: James
authors.forename: Gowri
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gopalakrishna
authors.forename: Suok Kai
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Chew
authors.forename: Chorh Chuan
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: Matthew H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Samore
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Fisman
authors.forename: Megan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Murray
mesh_terms: D016358:Contact Tracing; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D006723:Hong Kong / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008433:Mathematics; D015233:Models, Statistical; D010356:Patient Isolation; D011336:Probability; D015980:Public Health Practice; D011790:Quarantine; D045169:Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000635:transmission*; D012846:Singapore / Q000453:epidemiology; D013269:Stochastic Processes