Compartmental models in epidemiology

The establishment and spread of infectious diseases is a complex phenomenon with many interacting factors, e.g., the environment in which the pathogen and hosts are situated, the population(s) it is exposed to, and the intra- and inter-dynamics of the population it is exposed to. The role of mathematical epidemiology is to model the establishment and spread of pathogens. A predominant method of doing so, is to use the notion of abstracting the population into compartments under certain assumptions, which represent their health status with respect to the pathogen in the system. One of the cornerstone works to achieve success in this method was done by Kermack and McKendrick in the early 1900s.

Compartmental models in epidemiology

The establishment and spread of infectious diseases is a complex phenomenon with many interacting factors, e.g., the environment in which the pathogen and hosts are situated, the population(s) it is exposed to, and the intra- and inter-dynamics of the population it is exposed to. The role of mathematical epidemiology is to model the establishment and spread of pathogens. A predominant method of doing so, is to use the notion of abstracting the population into compartments under certain assumptions, which represent their health status with respect to the pathogen in the system. One of the cornerstone works to achieve success in this method was done by Kermack and McKendrick in the early 1900s.