Estimating the basic reproduction number for the 2015 bubonic plague outbreak in Nyimba district of Eastern Zambia

BACKGROUND: Plague is a re-emerging flea-borne infectious disease of global importance and in recent years, Zambia has periodically experienced increased incidence of outbreaks of this disease. However, there are currently no studies in the country that provide a quantitative assessment of the ability of the disease to spread during these outbreaks. This limits our understanding of the epidemiology of the disease especially for planning and implementing quantifiable and cost-effective control measures. To fill this gap, the basic reproduction number, R(0), for bubonic plague was estimated in this study, using data from the 2015 Nyimba district outbreak, in the Eastern province of Zambia. R(0) is the average number of secondary infections arising from a single infectious individual during their infectious period in an entirely susceptible population. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Secondary epidemic data for the most recent 2015 Nyimba district bubonic plague outbreak in Zambia was analyzed. R(0) was estimated as a function of the average epidemic doubling time based on the initial exponential growth rate of the outbreak and the average infectious period for bubonic plague. R(0) was estimated to range between 1.5599 [95% CI: 1.382–1.7378] and 1.9332 [95% CI: 1.6366–2.2297], with average of 1.7465 [95% CI: 1.5093–1.9838]. Further, an SIR deterministic mathematical model was derived for this infection and this estimated R(0) to be between 1.4 to 1.5, which was within the range estimated above. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: This estimated R(0) for bubonic plague is an indication that each bubonic plague case can typically give rise to almost two new cases during these outbreaks. This R(0) estimate can now be used to quantitatively analyze and plan measurable interventions against future plague outbreaks in Zambia.