Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40991673›Full record

ArticlePLoS computational biology2025

Identifying COVID-19 peaks using early warning signals.

Joshua Looker, Kat S Rock, Louise Dyson

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PLoS computational biology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Joshua LookerEPSRC & MRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Mathematics for Real-World Systems, University of Warwick, Coventry, United Kingdom.ORCID 0009-0000-7973-8072
Kat S RockThe Zeeman Institute for Systems Biology & Infectious Disease Epidemiology Research, and Mathematics Institute, University of Warwick, Coventry, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0001-8414-7648
Louise DysonThe Zeeman Institute for Systems Biology & Infectious Disease Epidemiology Research, and Mathematics Institute, University of Warwick, Coventry, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0001-9788-4858

Funding

Mathematics of Systems II Centre for Doctoral Training at the University of Warwick
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic has had catastrophic effects on public health and economies. Around the world, many countries employed modelling efforts to help guide pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical measures designed to reduce the spread of the virus. Modelling efforts for future pandemics could use the theory of early warning signals (EWS), which aims to predict 'critical transitions' in complex dynamical systems. In infectious disease systems, such transitions correspond to (re-)emergence, peaks and troughs in infections which can be indirectly observed through the reported case data. There is increasing evidence that including EWS in modelling can help improve responses to upcoming increases or decreases in case reporting. Here, we present both theoretical and data-driven analyses of the suitability of EWS to predict epidemic transitions in reported case data. We derive analytical statistics for a variety of infectious disease models and show, through stochastic simulations of different modelling scenarios, the applicability of EWS in such contexts. Using the COVID-19 reported case dataset from the United Kingdom, we demonstrate the performance of a range of temporal and spatial statistics to anticipate transitions in the case data. Finally, we also investigate the applicability of using EWS analysis of hospitalisation data to anticipate transitions in the corresponding case data. Together, our findings indicate that EWS analysis could be a vital addition to future modelling analysis for real-world infection data.

Indexed as

COVID-19Computational BiologyComputer SimulationHumansPandemicsSARS-CoV-2Stochastic ProcessesUnited Kingdom

Identifiers

PMID40991673
PMCPMC12483279

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.