I searched for R_0 data on flu pandemics and found this: http://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/healthtopics/documents/0905_pandemic_influenza_pandemics_of_influenza.pdf

I searched for R_0 data on flu pandemics and found this: http://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/healthtopics/documents/0905_pandemic_influenza_pandemics_of_influenza.pdf http://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/healthtopics/documents/0905_pan... Note the sharp jump as R_0 goes from sub-2 to over-2, which should not be surprising (hand wave about branch processes, light of a thousand suns, etc). Over to someone better qualified to comment - is the present situation with Ebola taking us into a pandemic territory similar to 1918 H1N1?