If a disease has a basic reproduction number (R0) of 2.5, how many people can one infected person potentially infect in 3 generations? (2023)

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Q: If a disease has a basic reproduction number (R0) of 2.5, how many people can one infected person potentially infect in 3 generations? (2023)

Solution: Total infections = R0^n = 2.5^3 = 15.625.

Steps: 8

Step 1: Understand what R0 means. R0 (basic reproduction number) indicates how many people one infected person can infect on average.
Step 2: Identify the value of R0 given in the question, which is 2.5.
Step 3: Determine how many generations you want to calculate for. In this case, it is 3 generations.
Step 4: Use the formula for total infections, which is Total infections = R0^n, where n is the number of generations.
Step 5: Substitute the values into the formula: Total infections = 2.5^3.
Step 6: Calculate 2.5 raised to the power of 3. This means 2.5 multiplied by itself three times: 2.5 * 2.5 * 2.5.
Step 7: Perform the multiplication: 2.5 * 2.5 = 6.25, and then 6.25 * 2.5 = 15.625.
Step 8: Conclude that one infected person can potentially infect approximately 15.625 people in 3 generations.