Theoretical perspectives on the infectiousness of Ebola virus disease

Table 1 The basic reproduction number and mean generation time of three different diseases

Disease	Basic reproduction number	Mean generation time (days)^a	Reference
Measles	15.0 (12–18)	12.0	[19]
Influenza (H1N1-2009)	1.4 (1.2-3.1)	2.8	[20]
Ebola virus disease	1.7 (1.5-2.0)	15.0 ^b	[1]

^aIt should be noted that the mean generation time is shorter than the mean serial interval if there are asymptomatic transmissions [21].
^bThe mean incubation period of EVD is estimated to be 12 days [22] and 10 days [1], both shorter than the mean generation time.

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