Table 1.
Order-of-magnitude estimates for reproductive number (R0) and virulence (α) for some emerging pathogens. Both parameters are unitless: R0 is the expected number of secondary cases from a primary case in a completely susceptible population, while α is the disease-induced mortality rate scaled by the natural mortality rate.
| pathogen | host | R0 | α | reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SARS | human | 3 | 640 | Anderson et al. (2004) |
| HIV | human | 1.43 | 6.36 | Velasco-Hernandez et al. (2002) |
| WNV | American crow | 1.61–3.24 | 639 | Wonham et al. (2004) |
| myxomatosis | European rabbit | 3 | 5 | Dwyer et al. (1990) |