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Nature 427, 774-775 (26 February 2004) | doi:10.1038/427774a

Disease control:  Virtual plagues get real

Virginia Gewin1

  1. Virginia Gewin is a science writer in Corvallis, Oregon.
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Mathematical models incorporating ecological data are starting to be deployed on the front line in the battle against infectious disease. Virginia Gewin talks to the number-crunchers who are spearheading the assault.

During Britain's epidemic of foot-and-mouth disease in 2001, the government culled some 4 million cattle, pigs and sheep. These drastic measures were introduced following the advice of a new breed of epidemiologist — those who deploy mathematical models of disease ecology to predict the progress of an outbreak and the probable effectiveness of different control strategies.

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