1

I am a nonmedical scientist trying to make sense of medical terms that were involved in the following study: Transmission onset distribution of COVID-19. I am attaching a link to the paper for your reference: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1201971220306123

My question is: what is a layman's definition of what transmission onset is? Can I construed it as the infectiousness of the disease or transmissibility of the disease?

I bring your attention to the crucial Figure (attached here, Figure 3 of the paper)enter image description here

The figure presents the probability density function vs number of days after onset of symptoms. The caption reads: Estimated distribution of the transmission onset of COVID-19 relative to the onset of symptoms.

Can someone kindly explain this 'transmission onset' thing in plain language please?

Improve this question

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
1

The transmission onset of an individual is the time when the individual first contaminated someone else, as defined in the paper you mentioned, section Procedures, first paragraph, P_j definition:

enter image description here

Improve this answer

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.