A simple model incorporating demographic and epidemiological processes is explored. Four re-parameterized quantities the basic demographic reproductive number ($\R_d$), the basic epidemiological reproductive number ($\R_0$), the ratio ($\nu$) between the average life spans of susceptible and infective class, and the relative fecundity of infectives ($\theta$), are utilized in qualitative analysis. Mathematically, non-analytic vector fields are handled by blow-up transformations to carry out a complete and global dynamical analysis. A family of homoclinics is found, suggesting that a disease outbreak would be ignited by a tiny number of infectious individuals.

The strengths and limitations of using homogeneous mixing and heterogeneous mixing epidemic models are explored in the context of the transmission dynamics of tuberculosis. The focus is on three types of models: a standard incidence homogeneous mixing model, a non-homogeneous mixing model that incorporates 'household' contacts, and an age-structured model. The models are parameterized using demographic and epidemiological data and the patterns generated from these models are compared. Furthermore, the effects of population growth, stochasticity, clustering of contacts, and age structure on disease dynamics are explored. This framework is used to asses the possible causes for the observed historical decline of tuberculosis notifications.

Although the generation time of an infectious disease plays a key role in estimating its transmission potential, the impact of the sampling time of generation times on the estimation procedure has yet to be clarified. The present study defines the period and cohort generation times, both of which are time-inhomogeneous, as a function of the infection time of secondary and primary cases, respectively. By means of analytical and numerical approaches, it is shown that the period generation time increases with calendar time, whereas the cohort generation time decreases as the incidence increases. The initial growth phase of an epidemic of Asian influenza A (H2N2) in the Netherlands in 1957 was reanalyzed, and estimates of the basic reproduction number, $R_0$, from the Lotka-Euler equation were examined. It was found that the sampling time of generation time during the course of the epidemic introduced a time-effect to the estimate of $R_0$. Other historical data of a primary pneumonic plague in Manchuria in 1911 were also examined to help illustrate the empirical evidence of the period generation time. If the serial intervals, which eventually determine the generation times, are sampled during the course of an epidemic, direct application of the sampled generation-time distribution to the Lotka-Euler equation leads to a biased estimate of $R_0$. An appropriate quantification of the transmission potential requires the estimation of the cohort generation time during the initial growth phase of an epidemic or adjustment of the time-effect (e.g., adjustment of the growth rate of the epidemic during the sampling time) on the period generation time. A similar issue also applies to the estimation of the effective reproduction number as a function of calendar time. Mathematical properties of the generation time distribution in a heterogeneously mixing population need to be clarified further.

This review focuses on how infectious diseases and their prevention and control by development of vaccines and widespread vaccination has shaped evolution of human civilization and of the animals and plants that humans depend on for food, labor and companionship. After describing major infectious diseases and the current status for control by vaccination, the barriers to infection and the attributes of innate and acquired immunity contributing to control are discussed. The evolution in types of vaccines is presented in the context of developing technologies and in improving adjuvants to engender enhanced vaccine efficacy. The special concerns and needs in vaccine design and development are discussed in dealing with epidemics/pandemics with special emphasis on influenza and current global problems in vaccine delivery.

The reemergence of tuberculosis (TB) from the 1980s to the early 1990s instigated extensive researches on the mechanisms behind the transmission dynamics of TB epidemics. This article provides a detailed review of the work on the dynamics and control of TB. The earliest mathematical models describing the TB dynamics appeared in the 1960s and focused on the prediction and control strategies using simulation approaches. Most recently developed models not only pay attention to simulations but also take care of dynamical analysis using modern knowledge of dynamical systems. Questions addressed by these models mainly concentrate on TB control strategies, optimal vaccination policies, approaches toward the elimination of TB in the U.S.A., TB co-infection with HIV/AIDS, drug-resistant TB, responses of the immune system, impacts of demography, the role of public transportation systems, and the impact of contact patterns. Model formulations involve a variety of mathematical areas, such as ODEs (Ordinary Differential Equations) (both autonomous and non-autonomous systems), PDEs (Partial Differential Equations), system of difference equations, system of integro-differential equations, Markov chain model, and simulation models.

We consider a single outbreak susceptible-infected-recovered (SIR) model and corresponding estimation procedures for the effective reproductive number $\mathcal{R}(t)$. We discuss the estimation of the underlying SIR parameters with a generalized least squares (GLS) estimation technique. We do this in the context of appropriate statistical models for the measurement process. We use asymptotic statistical theories to derive the mean and variance of the limiting (Gaussian) sampling distribution and to perform post statistical analysis of the inverse problems. We illustrate the ideas and pitfalls (e.g., large condition numbers on the corresponding Fisher information matrix) with both synthetic and influenza incidence data sets.

The recent H1N1 ("swine flu") pandemic and recent H5N1 ("avian flu") outbreaks have brought increased attention to the study of the role of animal populations as reservoirs for pathogens that could invade human populations. It is believed that pigs acquired flu strains from birds and humans, acting as a mixing vessel in generating new influenza viruses. Assessing the role of animal reservoirs, particularly reservoirs involving highly mobile populations (like migratory birds), on disease dispersal and persistence is of interests to a wide range of researchers including public health experts and evolutionary biologists. This paper studies the interactions between transient and resident bird populations and their role on dispersal and persistence. A metapopulation framework based on a system of nonlinear ordinary differential equations is used to study the transmission dynamics and control of avian diseases. Simplified versions of mathematical models involving a limited number of migratory and resident bird populations are analyzed. Epidemiological time scales and singular perturbation methods are used to reduce the dimensionality of the model. Our results show that mixing of bird populations (involving residents and migratory birds) play an important role on the patterns of disease spread.

The lessons learned from the 2009-2010 H1N1 influenza pandemic, as it moves out of the limelight, should not be under-estimated, particularly since the probability of novel influenza epidemics in the near future is not negligible and the potential consequences might be huge. Hence, as the world, particularly the industrialized world, responded to the potentially devastating effects of this novel A-H1N1 strain with substantial resources, reminders of the recurrent loss of life from a well established foe, seasonal influenza, could not be ignored. The uncertainties associated with the reported and expected levels of morbidity and mortality with this novel A-H1N1 live in a backdrop of $36,000$ deaths, over 200,000 hospitalizations, and millions of infections (20% of the population) attributed to seasonal influenza in the USA alone, each year. So, as the Northern Hemisphere braced for the possibility of a potentially "lethal" second wave of the novel A-H1N1 without a vaccine ready to mitigate its impact, questions of who should be vaccinated first if a vaccine became available, came to the forefront of the discussion. Uncertainty grew as we learned that the vaccine, once available, would be unevenly distributed around the world. Nations capable of acquiring large vaccine supplies soon became aware that those who could pay would have to compete for a limited vaccine stockpile. The challenges faced by nations dealing jointly with seasonal and novel A-H1N1 co-circulating strains under limited resources, that is, those with no access to novel A-H1N1 vaccine supplies, limited access to the seasonal influenza vaccine, and limited access to antivirals (like Tamiflu) are explored in this study. One- and two-strain models are introduced to mimic the influenza dynamics of a single and co-circulating strains, in the context of a single epidemic outbreak. Optimal control theory is used to identify and evaluate the "best" control policies. The controls account for the cost associated with social distancing and antiviral treatment policies. The optimal policies identified might have, if implemented, a substantial impact on the novel H1N1 and seasonal influenza co-circulating dynamics. Specifically, the implementation of antiviral treatment might reduce the number of influenza cases by up to 60% under a reasonable seasonal vaccination strategy, but only by up to 37% when the seasonal vaccine is not available. Optimal social distancing policies alone can be as effective as the combination of multiple policies, reducing the total number of influenza cases by more than 99% within a single outbreak, an unrealistic but theoretically possible outcome for isolated populations with limited resources.

In this work we consider every individual of a population to be a server whose state can be either busy (infected) or idle (susceptible). This server approach allows to consider a general distribution for the duration of the infectious state, instead of being restricted to exponential distributions. In order to achieve this we first derive new approximations to quasistationary distribution (QSD) of SIS (Susceptible- Infected- Susceptible) and SEIS (Susceptible- Latent- Infected- Susceptible) stochastic epidemic models. We give an expression that relates the basic reproductive number, $R_0$ and the server utilization, $\rho$.

Influenza outbreaks have been of relatively limited historical interest in México. The 2009 influenza pandemic not only changed México's health priorities but also brought to the forefront some of the strengths and weaknesses of México's epidemiological surveillance and public health system. A year later, México's data show an epidemic pattern characterized by three "waves''. The reasons this three-wave patterns are theoretically investigated via models that incorporate México's general trends of land transportation, public health measures, and the regular opening and closing of schools during 2009. The role of vaccination is also studied taking into account delays in access and limitations in the total and daily numbers of vaccines available. The research in this article supports the view that the thee epidemic "waves" are the result of the synergistic interactions of three factors: regional movement patterns of Mexicans, the impact and effectiveness of dramatic social distancing measures imposed during the first outbreak, and the summer release of school children followed by their subsequent return to classes in the fall. The three "waves" cannot be explained by the transportation patterns alone but only through the combination of transport patterns and changes in contact rates due to the use of explicit or scheduled social distancing measures. The research identifies possible vaccination schemes that account for the school calendar and whose effectiveness are enhanced by social distancing measures. The limited impact of the late arrival of the vaccine is also analyzed.