Contact Tracing -- Old Models and New Challenges

TL;DR

This paper reviews the evolution of contact tracing models from traditional methods to modern digital approaches, highlighting ongoing challenges and open questions in the field.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of historical and current modeling approaches for contact tracing and discusses new challenges posed by technological advances.

Findings

Historical models laid the foundation for understanding contact tracing.

Modern challenges include integrating digital data and genetic sequencing.

Open questions remain in optimizing contact tracing strategies.

Abstract

Contact tracing is an effective method to control emerging diseases. Since the 1980's, mathematical modelers are developing a consistent theory for contact tracing, with the aim to find effective and efficient implementations of contact tracing, and to assess the effects of contact tracing on the spread of an infectious disease. Despite the progress made in the area, there remain important open questions. In addition, technological developments, especially in the field of molecular biology (genetic sequencing of pathogens) and modern communication (digital contact tracing), have posed new challenges for the modeling community. In the present paper, we discuss modeling approaches for contact tracing and identify some of the current challenges for the field.