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. 2020 Nov 23;9(1):26–35. doi: 10.1093/emph/eoaa044

Table 1.

Similarities between epidemics and individual infections

Features in common
Exponential increase of cases (epidemics) and of pathogens (infections)
Early intervention is best
Early control efforts can seem excessive and unwarranted
Failure of early control greatly increases costs (both due to the infections/pathogens themselves and due to the control measures)
Terminating control efforts early leads to setbacks
Complete eradication of the disease can be costly