An Introduction to Infectious Disease Modelling

by Emilia Vynnycky, Richard White

Mathematical models are increasingly being used to examine questions in infectious disease control. Applications include predicting the impact of vaccination strategies against common infections and determining optimal control
strategies against HIV and pandemic influenza.

This book introduces individuals interested in infectious
diseases to this exciting and expanding area. The
mathematical level of the book is kept as simple as
possible, which makes the book accessible to those who have
not studied mathematics to university level. Understanding
is further enhanced by models that can be accessed online,
which will allow readers to explore the impact of different
factors and control strategies, and further adapt and
develop the models themselves.



The book is based on successful courses developed by the
authors at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical
Medicine. It will be of interest to epidemiologists, public
health researchers, policy makers, veterinary scientists,
medical statisticians and infectious disease researchers.

Genres: Mathematics, Science, Nonfiction

400 pages, Paperback

First published May 13, 2010

Reviews

[dead letter office · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a decent introduction to modeling infectious disease, but very heavily skewed toward differential equations models. It's too bad that people who learn this stuff coming from the disease/medical/epidemiology side come away from the impression that THE mathematical tools for modeling infectious disease are difference and differential equations. The token chapter on stochastic models is so scanty as to be almost useless. They devote a tiny subsection to agent-based ("individual-based") models. The mathematical level is very basic (if you've had calculus you'll be fine). On the plus side it's an easy read, and it's pretty fun to say and/or write "Vynnycky".

[Hashem Koohy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book, in particular for the newbies -- like myself-- to the world of mathematical models behind epidemiology. The authors are very successful in introducing and further developing each topic in a reasonable depth. I have just finished its four chapter, and because this is not --currently-- my field of research, I had to put it down to make time for some more relevant reading. I really hope to find time to come back and finish it fully.

[Jack · Rating 3 out of 5]

The course provided a solid foundation in disease modeling, especially the mathematics behind compartment models using difference and differential equations. However, it lacked depth in individual contact models and network based approaches, which I was particularly interested in due to their relevance to economic systems. Stochastic modeling was only briefly covered and didn’t explore the extension of ODE based compartment models to SDEs as I had hoped.

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

An excellent introductory book on disease modelling, probably gets an extra star just for being the more recent release of disease modelling books. However, this book is extremely basic in it's concepts, and is not an appropriate book if you work in the field. It would be an excellent undergraduate textbook, but if you want to actually learn AND understand disease modelling, try 'Modelling infectious diseases" by Rohani and Keeling.