By Hans Kaper
All around the world, people are feeling the acute effects of a mass pandemic for what is likely the first time. Employment and education efforts are disrupted, certain resources are in short supply, some hospitals are near capacity, and individuals are practicing social distancing and self-isolation. In response, the May 2020 issue of SIAM News highlights some of the tools of applied and computational mathematics that offer insight into the spread of infectious diseases.
This issue is motivated by the worldwide proliferation of the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and the current pandemic caused by the associated disease COVID-19, but it addresses other infectious diseases as well. The collection of articles within these pages is certainly not comprehensive, and readers will find that some overlap exists. Our main concern in assembling this compilation was timeliness. Anyone seeking more detailed information should refer to the SIAM Epidemiology Collection, which is freely available to all for one year and accessible online.
We thank the authors for their enthusiastic and prompt response to our invitation to contribute to this special issue. Further pieces on the topic of disease modeling and COVID-19 will be published in future issues of SIAM News. The suggestion to publish a series of articles on the spread of infectious diseases originated within the SIAM Activity Group on Mathematics of Planet Earth (SIAG/MPE), and we appreciate the SIAG’s prompt attention to this timely matter.
As your professional society, SIAM is working hard to help facilitate a better understanding of COVID-19 and the research surrounding it. Please visit sinews.siam.org to read additional posts about SIAM’s ongoing response to the virus, relevant mathematical resources, funding agency accommodations for travel costs, and more.
Hans Kaper, founding chair of the SIAM Activity Group on Mathematics of Planet Earth and editor-in-chief of SIAM News, is affiliate faculty in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at Georgetown University.