Simulate Pandemic Scenarios with Uncertainty

Author

Adam Kucharski

Published

July 31, 2025

What do we have?

  • Daily aggregate of incident Flu cases
  • Serial interval distribution
  • Infectious period

Steps in code

# Pandemic scenarios with uncertainty -----------------------------------------

# Load packages
library(epidemics)
library(EpiEstim) # for Rt estimation
library(tidyverse)
library(withr)

# Generate an R estimate with EpiEstim ----------------------------------------

# get 2009 influenza data from school in Pennsylvania
data(Flu2009)
flu_early_data <- dplyr::filter(Flu2009$incidence, dates < "2009-05-10")

# define a PDF for the distribution of serial intervals
serial_pdf <- dgamma(seq(0, 25), shape = 2.622, scale = 0.957)

# ensure probabilities add up to 1 by normalising them by the sum
serial_pdf <- serial_pdf / sum(serial_pdf)

# Use EpiEstim to estimate R with uncertainty
# Uses Gamma distribution by default
output_R <- EpiEstim::estimate_R(
  incid = flu_early_data,
  method = "non_parametric_si",
  config = make_config(list(si_distr = serial_pdf))
)

# Plot output to visualise
# plot(output_R, "R")

# get mean mean and sd over time
r_estimate_mean <- mean(output_R$R$`Mean(R)`)
r_estimate_sd <- mean(output_R$R$`Std(R)`)

# Generate 100 R samples
r_samples <- withr::with_seed(
  seed = 1,
  code = rnorm(
    n = 100, 
    mean = r_estimate_mean, 
    sd = r_estimate_sd
  )
)

# Set up the transmission model -------------------------------------------

# load contact and population data from socialmixr::polymod
polymod <- socialmixr::polymod
contact_data <- socialmixr::contact_matrix(
  polymod,
  countries = "United Kingdom",
  age.limits = c(0, 20, 40), # use three age groups
  symmetric = TRUE
)

# prepare contact matrix and demography vector for use in model
# transpose so R0 calculated correctly inside model
contact_matrix <- t(contact_data$matrix) 
demography_vector <- contact_data$demography$population
names(demography_vector) <- rownames(contact_matrix)

# initial conditions
initial_i <- 1e-6
initial_conditions <- c(
  S = 1 - initial_i, E = 0, I = initial_i, R = 0, V = 0
)

# define same ICs for all age groups
initial_conditions <- rbind(
  initial_conditions,
  initial_conditions,
  initial_conditions
)

# assign rownames for clarity
rownames(initial_conditions) <- rownames(contact_matrix)

# define UK population object
uk_population <- epidemics::population(
  name = "UK",
  contact_matrix = contact_matrix,
  demography_vector = demography_vector,
  initial_conditions = initial_conditions
)

# Simulate scenario with uncertainty --------------------------------------

# define epidemic parameters
infectious_period <- 7
beta <- r_samples / infectious_period

# pass the vector of transmissibilities to the basic {epidemics} model
output <- epidemics::model_default(
  population = uk_population,
  transmission_rate = beta,
  recovery_rate = 1 / infectious_period,
  time_end = 600
)

# select the parameter set and data columns with dplyr::select()
# add the R value for visualisation
# calculate new infections, and use tidyr to unnest the data column
data <- dplyr::select(output, param_set, transmission_rate, data) %>%
  mutate(
    r_value = r_samples,
    new_infections = purrr::map(data, new_infections)
  ) %>%
  dplyr::select(-data) %>%
  tidyr::unnest(new_infections)


# Plot outputs ------------------------------------------------------------

# # plot the data
# data %>% 
#   dplyr::filter() %>%
#   ggplot() +
#   geom_line(
#     aes(time, new_infections, col = r_value, group = param_set),
#     alpha = 0.3
#   ) +
#   # use qualitative scale to emphasize differences
#   scale_colour_fermenter(
#     palette = "Dark2",
#     name = "R",
#     breaks = c(0, 1, 1.5, 2.0, 3.0),
#     limits = c(0, 3)
#   ) +
#   scale_y_continuous(
#     name = "New infections",
#     labels = scales::label_comma(scale = 1e-3, suffix = "K")
#   ) +
#   labs(
#     x = "Time (days since start of epidemic)"
#   ) +
#   facet_grid(
#     cols = vars(demography_group)
#   ) +
#   theme_bw() +
#   theme(
#     legend.position = "top",
#     legend.key.height = unit(2, "mm")
#   )

# Add an intervention -----------------------------------------------------

# prepare a school-closure intervention with a differential effect on age groups
close_schools <- epidemics::intervention(
  name = "School closure",
  type = "contacts",
  time_begin = 200,
  time_end = 300,
  reduction = matrix(c(0.5, 0.001, 0.001))
)

# run model with intervention
output <- epidemics::model_default(
  population = uk_population,
  transmission_rate = beta,
  recovery_rate = 1 / infectious_period,
  intervention = list(contacts = close_schools),
  time_end = 600
)

# reformat data for plotting
data <- dplyr::select(output, param_set, transmission_rate, data) %>%
  dplyr::mutate(
    r_value = r_samples,
    new_infections = map(data, new_infections)
  ) %>%
  dplyr::select(-data) %>%
  tidyr::unnest(new_infections)


# plot the data
data %>% 
  dplyr::filter() %>%
  ggplot() +
  geom_line(
    aes(time, new_infections, col = r_value, group = param_set),
    alpha = 0.3
  ) +
  # use qualitative scale to emphasize differences
  scale_colour_fermenter(
    palette = "Dark2",
    name = "R",
    breaks = c(0, 1, 1.5, 2.0, 3.0),
    limits = c(0, 3)
  ) +
  scale_y_continuous(
    name = "New infections",
    labels = scales::label_comma(scale = 1e-3, suffix = "K")
  ) +
  labs(
    x = "Time (days since start of epidemic)"
  ) +
  facet_grid(
    cols = vars(demography_group)
  ) +
  theme_bw() +
  theme(
    legend.position = "top",
    legend.key.height = unit(2, "mm")
  ) +
  annotate(
    geom = "rect",
    xmin = close_schools$time_begin,
    xmax = close_schools$time_end,
    ymin = 0, ymax = 500e3,
    fill = alpha("red", alpha = 0.2),
    lty = "dashed"
  ) +
  annotate(
    geom = "text",
    x = mean(c(close_schools$time_begin, close_schools$time_end)),
    y = 400e3,
    angle = 90,
    label = "School closure"
  ) +
  expand_limits(
    y = c(0, 500e3)
  ) +
  coord_cartesian(
    expand = FALSE
  ) 

Steps in detail

Please note that the code assumes the necessary packages are already installed. If they are not, you can install them using first the install.packages("pak") function and then the pak::pak() function for both packages in CRAN or GitHub before loading them with library().