Week 1: Introduction to Infectious Disease Dynamics

Infectious diseases continue to place an enormous burden of morbidity and mortality on human populations, particularly in low-income settings. Understanding the spread of infectious diseases and designing effective control strategies is increasingly reliant on mechanistic mathematical models that describe the process of transmission of pathogens through populations. Models are used to understand the social and biological factors driving epidemics, to develop strategies to intervene, and to forecast the future of outbreaks, for example.

This course was designed to introduce students to the basics of infectious disease modeling. We introduce different applications of models in the infectious disease literature and in policy, and teach students how to assess and critique models they encounter in research and public health, and design their own.

Course Menu

1.1 Global Burden of Infectious Diseases

1.2 Defining the Population at Risk: Demography

1.3 Defining the Population at Risk: Transmission Route

1.4 A First Look at Basic Susceptible-Infected-Recovered Models