Definition: Transmission parameters are epidemiological measures that quantify how infectious agents spread within a population. They include:
- The transmission rate (β): The rate at which infectious individuals cause new infections in a susceptible population, measured in units of inverse time (e.g. days^-1).
- Age-specific transmission parameters: These determine how respiratory pathogens spread among different age groups, which is crucial for planning responses to pandemics and designing control strategies for diseases like measles or mumps.
- The basic reproduction number (R0): The average number of secondary cases generated by one infectious individual in a completely susceptible population.