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Volume 29, Number 8—August 2023
Etymologia

Etymologia: Reproduction Number

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Author affiliation: Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Punjab, India

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Reproduction Number [′ṝe-prə-′dak-shən ′nəm-bər]

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History and concept of basic reproduction number (R0). *The total reproduction of the population.

Figure. History and concept of basic reproduction number (R0). *The total reproduction of the population.

The basic reproduction number (R0, pronounced R naught) is derived from demography terminology used to estimate the overall population reproduction rate. R0 is an essential metric in the study of epidemics (Figure). This value measures the estimated number of new cases of an infection caused by an infectious person in a population of disease-susceptible person.

The effective reproduction number (Rt) is similar to R0, but Rt measures the number of persons infected by infectious person when some portion of the population has already been infected. This idea can be traced back to the work performed by Richard Bockh, Alfred Lotka and others.

A modern application of R0 in epidemiology was reported in 1952 when George Macdonald constructed population models about the spread of malaria. Macdonald used the notation Z0 instead of R0 to differentiate it from the preceding demography terminology. The notation R0 was adopted instead of Z0 during the Dahlem conference in 1982.

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References

  1. Anderson  RM. Transmission dynamics and control of infectious disease agents. In: Anderson RM, May RM, editors. Population biology of infectious diseases: life sciences report 25, Dahlem// conference. Berlin: Springer-Verlag; 1982. p. 149–76.
  2. Delamater  PL, Street  EJ, Leslie  TF, Yang  YT, Jacobsen  KH. Complexity of basic reproduction number (R0). Emerg Infect Dis. 2019;25:1–4. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  3. Heesterbeek  JA. A brief history of R0 and a recipe for its calculation. Acta Biotheor. 2002;50:189–204. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  4. Macdonald  G. The analysis of equilibrium in malaria. Trop Dis Bull. 1952;49:813–29.
  5. Smith  DL, Battle  KE, Hay  SI, Barker  CM, Scott  TW, McKenzie  FE. Ross, macdonald, and a theory for the dynamics and control of mosquito-transmitted pathogens. PLoS Pathog. 2012;8:e1002588. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar

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DOI: 10.3201/eid2908.221445

Original Publication Date: July 11, 2023

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Balbir B. Singh, Centre for One Health, Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Ludhiana, Punjab 141004, India

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Page created: July 11, 2023
Page updated: July 19, 2023
Page reviewed: July 19, 2023
The conclusions, findings, and opinions expressed by authors contributing to this journal do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the authors' affiliated institutions. Use of trade names is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by any of the groups named above.
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