The SIR dynamic model of infectious disease transmission and its analogy with chemical kinetics
Cory M. Simon
Abstract
Mathematical models of the dynamics of infectious disease transmission are used to forecast epidemics and assess mitigation strategies. In this article, we highlight the analogy between the dynamics of disease transmission and chemical reaction kinetics while providing an exposition on the classic Susceptible–Infectious–Removed (SIR) epidemic model. Particularly, the SIR model resembles a dynamic model of a batch reactor carrying out an autocatalytic reaction with catalyst deactivation. This analogy between disease transmission and chemical reaction enables the exchange of ideas between epidemic and chemical kinetic modeling communities.
Topics & Concepts
AnalogyAutocatalysisChemical kineticsExposition (narrative)Infectious disease (medical specialty)KineticsTransmission (telecommunications)Biochemical engineeringDisease transmissionChemical reactionChemical DynamicsStatistical physicsDiseaseChemistryComputer sciencePhysicsEngineeringChemical physicsVirologyBiologyClassical mechanicsEpistemologyMedicinePhilosophyLiteratureBiochemistryArtPathologyTelecommunicationsCOVID-19 epidemiological studiesMathematical and Theoretical Epidemiology and Ecology ModelsEvolution and Genetic Dynamics