Critical community size
Minimum size of a closed population within which a pathogen can persist indefinitely
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The critical community size (CCS) is the minimum size of a closed population within which a human-to-human, non-zoonotic pathogen can persist indefinitely.[1]
When the size of the closed population falls below the critical community size level, the low density of infected hosts causes extinction of the pathogen.[2] This epidemiologic phenomenon was first identified during measles outbreaks in the 1950s.[1]
The critical community size depends on:[3]
- Speed of transmission
- How long until a person who has recovered remains immune
- Fatality rate
- Birth and death rate in the general population
See also
- Compartmental models in epidemiology – Type of mathematical model used for infectious diseases
- Epidemiology – Study of health and disease within a population
- Force of infection – Rate at which susceptible individuals acquire an infectious disease
- Mathematical modelling of infectious disease – Using mathematical models to understand infectious disease transmission
- Transmission risks and rates
