Authors: Kin On Kwok, Gabriel M. Leung, Steven Riley
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0022089
Abstract Summary
During pandemics, surprisingly similar proportions of influenza infections occur within households compared to seasonal flu years—around 30%—despite more household members being susceptible. This counterintuitive finding results from a trade-off: high community transmission during pandemics rapidly depletes household susceptibles before they infect each other.
Why Brain? 🧠
Study reveals household influenza transmission remains constant at ~30% during both pandemic and non-pandemic years, suggesting household-based mitigation strategies have similar effectiveness regardless of season.
License: CC BY.
The image is AI-generated for illustrative purposes only. Courtesy of Midjourney.
