Library & Innovation Centre

The purpose of infectious disease transmission models is to improve our understanding of the key drivers of disease spread and to make predictions about what might happen next.

Human and animal diseases are often caused by viruses or bacteria. Over the past two hundred or so years, vaccines have eradicated some of these diseases.

A model is an abstraction often represented using mathematics that describe some pattern and that pattern can be static, like a snapshot, or dynamic, like a movie. Models are used everywhere in our lives, most commonly to predict the weather. And are invaluable tools in the study of infectious disease biology.

Using social media data, like data from Twitter, for public health purposes is an increasingly active research area.

PREDICTING THE POTENTIAL SPREAD OF AN INFECTIOUS DISEASE
requires much more than simply connecting cities on a map.
Researchers must take into account many factors about the pathogen
and the affected population.

Computer model could help public health officials anticipate overreactions to disease outbreaks.

Has a short video explaining how the simulator works, and information on how GLEAM works.

Can click on article for more information.
The abstracts provide a good overview of the the spread of disease.