Editing Basic reproduction number (section)

== History ==
The roots of the basic reproduction concept can be traced through the work of [[Ronald Ross]], [[Alfred Lotka]] and others,<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Smith DL, Battle KE, Hay SI, Barker CM, Scott TW, McKenzie FE | title = Ross, macdonald, and a theory for the dynamics and control of mosquito-transmitted pathogens | journal = PLOS Pathogens | volume = 8 | issue = 4 | pages = e1002588 | date = 2012-04-05 | pmid = 22496640 | pmc = 3320609 | doi = 10.1371/journal.ppat.1002588 | doi-access = free }}</ref> but its first modern application in epidemiology was by [[George Macdonald (malariologist)|George Macdonald]] in 1952,<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Macdonald G | title = The analysis of equilibrium in malaria | journal = Tropical Diseases Bulletin | volume = 49 | issue = 9 | pages = 813–29 | date = September 1952 | pmid = 12995455 }}</ref> who constructed population models of the spread of [[malaria]].  In his work he called the quantity basic reproduction rate and denoted it by <math>Z_0</math>.