Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42576971›Full record

ReviewEClinicalMedicine2026

Mechanics of pandemics.

Seba Contreras, Philipp Dönges, Laura Müller, Piklu Mallick, Sydney Paltra, Ulrik Hvid, Robyn J N Kettlitz, Andreas Reitenbach, Rodrigo Amaral Lind, Maíra Aguiar and 17 more

Abstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in EClinicalMedicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing 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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

27 authors.

Seba ContrerasMax Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Göttingen, Germany.
Philipp DöngesMax Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Göttingen, Germany.
Laura MüllerMax Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Göttingen, Germany.
Piklu MallickMax Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Göttingen, Germany.
Sydney PaltraChair of Transport Systems Planning and Transport Telematics, Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Ulrik HvidPandemiX Interdisciplinary Center for Pandemic Signatures, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Robyn J N KettlitzDepartment for Epidemiology, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Braunschweig, Germany.
Andreas ReitenbachKarlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, Germany.
Rodrigo Amaral LindMax Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Göttingen, Germany.
Maíra AguiarBCAM - Basque Center for Applied Mathematics, Bilbao, Spain.
Philip BechtlePhysikalisches Institut, Universität Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
André Calero ValdezInstitute of Multimedia and Interactive Systems, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany.
Ronja GronemeyerMax Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Göttingen, Germany.
Manuela HarriesDepartment for Epidemiology, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Braunschweig, Germany.
Veronika K JaegerInstitute of Epidemiology and Social Medicine, University of Münster, Münster, Germany.
André KarchInstitute of Epidemiology and Social Medicine, University of Münster, Münster, Germany.
Carolina J Klett-TammenDepartment for Epidemiology, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Braunschweig, Germany.
Peter KlimekInstitute of the Science of Complex Systems, CeDAS, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Mirjam E KretzschmarUniversity Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
Kai NagelChair of Transport Systems Planning and Transport Telematics, Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Bjarke Frost NielsenPandemiX Interdisciplinary Center for Pandemic Signatures, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Barbara PrainsackDepartment of Political Science, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Isabella M RadhuberDepartment of Political Science, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Lone SimonsenPandemiX Interdisciplinary Center for Pandemic Signatures, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Kim SneppenPandemiX Interdisciplinary Center for Pandemic Signatures, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Janik SuerInstitute of Epidemiology and Social Medicine, University of Münster, Münster, Germany.
Viola PriesemannMax Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Göttingen, Germany.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

COVID-19 and previous pandemics have shown how diseases can disrupt, threaten, and transform daily life. Since pathogens and societies are continuously evolving, every pandemic is different. However, certain fundamental principles of disease transmission appear to hold true across different outbreaks. These "mechanisms" are grounded in natural laws or the very structure of our biology and societies. This paper compiles ten fundamental mechanisms, curated by a multidisciplinary team with backgrounds spanning public health, medicine, epidemiology, political science, mathematics, physics, and psychology. These mechanisms, although perhaps underappreciated, substantially shape how pandemics unfold and are controlled. The better we succeed in understanding these mechanisms and establishing this knowledge in our societies, the better we will be able to prepare for future pandemics and respond appropriately when they occur.

Indexed as

Behavioral epidemiologyCausal modelsInfectious disease controlMathematical modelingPandemic preparednessTransmission dynamics

Identifiers

PMID42576971
PMCPMC13453475

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.