On discrete time epidemic models in Kermack-McKendrick form

  1. Odo Diekmann
  2. Hans G. Othmer
  3. Robert Planque
  4. Martin CJ Bootsma

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Abstract

Surprisingly, the discrete-time version of the general 1927 Kermack-McKendrick epidemic model has, to our knowledge, not been formulated in the literature, and we rectify this omission here. The discrete time version is as general and flexible as its continuous-time counterpart, and contains numerous compartmental models as special cases. In contrast to the continuous time version, the discrete time version of the model is very easy to implement computationally, and thus promises to become a powerful tool for exploring control scenarios for specific infectious diseases. To demonstrate the potential, we investigate numerically how the incidence-peak size depends on model ingredients. We find that, with the same reproduction number and initial speed of epidemic spread, compartmental models systematically predict lower peak sizes than models that use a fixed duration for the latent and infectious periods.

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    SciScore for 10.1101/2021.03.26.21254385: (What is this?)

    Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.

    Table 1: Rigor

    Institutional Review Board Statementnot detected.
    Randomizationnot detected.
    Blindingnot detected.
    Power Analysisnot detected.
    Sex as a biological variablenot detected.

    Table 2: Resources

    No key resources detected.

    Results from OddPub: We did not detect open data. We also did not detect open code. Researchers are encouraged to share open data when possible (see Nature blog).

    Results from LimitationRecognizer: An explicit section about the limitations of the techniques employed in this study was not found. We encourage authors to address study limitations.

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    Results from rtransparent:
    • Thank you for including a conflict of interest statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • Thank you for including a funding statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • No protocol registration statement was detected.

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  2. Version published to 10.1101/2021.03.26.21254385v1 on medRxiv