Epidemic Models for SARS and Measles

Recent events have led to an increased interest in emerging infectious diseases. This article applies various deterministic models to the SARS epidemic of 2003 and a measles outbreak in the Netherlands in 1999-2000. We take a historical approach beginning with the well-known logistic curve and a lesser-known extension popularized by Pearl and Reed in the 1920s. We then considered Richards generalization in 1959 using a shape parameter. This method remains popular today in the biological literature but is often neglected in mathematical texts. The paper is accessible to students finishing the second year of calculus.