The epidemic behavior of the hepatitis C virus

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a leading worldwide cause of liver disease. Here , we use a new model of HCV spread to investigate the epidemic behavior of the virus and to estimate its basic reproductive number from gene sequence data. We find significant differences in epidemic behavior among HCV subtyp es and suggest that these differences are largely the result of subtype-spe cific transmission patterns. Our model builds a bridge between the discipli nes of population genetics and mathematical epidemiology by using pathogen gene sequences to infer the population dynamic history of an infectious dis ease.