- Rnaught is an R package and web application for estimating the - basic reproduction number - of infectious diseases. For information about using this application, view the - Help tab. - To learn more about the package, visit the online - documentation or - GitHub repository. - Technical details about the estimators featured in this project can be found in the reference - article. -
- -- The basic reproduction number, denoted R0, is defined as the expected number of infections caused by a - single infectious individual when introduced into a totally susceptible population. It assumes that all individuals in a given population are susceptible to the disease, - and that no preventive measures (such as lockdowns or vaccinations) have been enforced. It is a useful - indicator of the transmissibility of an infectious disease during the early stages of its spread and detection. -
-- If R0 < 1, then the disease will eventually die out. On the other hand, if - R0 > 1, the disease will spread (the higher the R0, the faster this will happen). Due to uncertainty of known data about the disease, it is difficult to - determine R0 precisely. - Therefore, many estimation methods exist, each based on different assumptions and yielding different estimates. It is the - responsibility of users to employ the most appropriate estimator (or suite of estimators) given the situation at hand. -