Frequentist estimation of an epidemic's spreading potential when observations are scarce
观测稀少时流行病传播潜力的频率学派估计
We consider the problem of inferring the potential of an epidemic for escalating into a pandemic on the basis of limited observations in its initial stages. Classical results of Becker & Hasofer (J. R. Statist. Soc. B, 59, 415–29) illustrate that frequentist estimation of the complete set of parameters of an epidemic modelled as a birth and death process remains feasible even when one is able to observe only the deaths and the total number of births. These assumptions on the…