1 <h1>Welcome to the Rnaught web application
</h1>
3 Rnaught is an R package and web application for estimating the
4 <a href=
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basic_reproduction_number" target=
"_blank">basic reproduction number
</a>
5 of infectious diseases.
6 We note that the estimators included in this web application are applied to diseases directly transmitted between the same host-type
7 i.e., they are not applciable to vector-borne diseases.
8 For information about using this application, view the
9 <span class=
"fw-bold text-primary">Help
<span class=
"glyphicon glyphicon-question-sign"></span></span> tab.
10 To learn more about the package, visit the online
11 <a href=
"https://MI2YorkU.github.io/Rnaught" target=
"_blank">documentation
</a> or
12 <a href=
"https://github.com/MI2YorkU/Rnaught" target=
"_blank">GitHub
</a> repository.
13 Technical details about the estimators featured in this project can be found in the reference
14 <a href=
"https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0269306" target=
"_blank">article
</a>.
16 <h4>What is the basic reproduction number?
</h4>
18 The basic reproduction number, denoted
<em>R
</em><sub>0</sub>, is defined as the expected number of infections caused
19 by a single infectious individual when introduced into a totally susceptible population. It assumes that all
20 individuals in a given population are susceptible to the disease, and that no preventive measures (such as lockdowns
21 or vaccinations) have been enforced. It is a useful indicator of the transmissibility of an infectious disease during
22 the early stages of its spread and detection.
25 If
<em>R
</em><sub>0</sub> < 1, the disease will eventually die out. On the other hand, if
26 <em>R
</em><sub>0</sub> > 1, the disease will spread (the higher the
<em>R
</em><sub>0</sub>, the faster this will
27 happen). Due to uncertainty of known data about the disease, it is difficult to determine
<em>R
</em><sub>0</sub>
28 precisely. Therefore, many estimation methods exist, each based on different assumptions and yielding different
29 estimates. It is the responsibility of users to employ the most appropriate estimator (or suite of estimators) given
30 the situation at hand.