Description
The interval is infecteeInfection - infectorInfection; minimumInterval subtracts both infectorUncertainty and infecteeUncertainty, while maximumInterval adds both.
Epidemiological timing depends on which event defines the origin, how intervals include their boundaries and whether time is observed. Numeric day coordinates and elapsed intervals do not by themselves select a calendar or a transmission model.
The interval is infecteeInfection - infectorInfection; minimumInterval subtracts both infectorUncertainty and infecteeUncertainty, while maximumInterval adds both.
When to use this tool
Use Generation Interval Explicit Anchor Pair when reconciling supplied day coordinates, observation windows or interval boundaries.
How to use the tool and how it works
- Enter infectorInfection, infecteeInfection, infectorUncertainty, infecteeUncertainty. Use the units and conventions below.
- Run the tool. Correct any format, range, or cross-field input error before interpreting the output.
- Read interval, minimumInterval, maximumInterval. Use the output convention below.
Require infecteeInfection >= infectorInfection and nonnegative uncertainty widths. The interval is infecteeInfection - infectorInfection; minimumInterval subtracts both infectorUncertainty and infecteeUncertainty, while maximumInterval adds both. Every coordinate and uncertainty must share the same time unit and origin.1
| Input field | Meaning and units | Accepted input |
|---|---|---|
| infectorInfection | Infector Infection | Required. Finite number. |
| infecteeInfection | Infectee Infection | Required. Finite number. |
| infectorUncertainty | Nonnegative symmetric half-width around the infector infection time. | Required. Finite number; minimum 0. |
| infecteeUncertainty | Nonnegative symmetric half-width around the infectee infection time. | Required. Finite number; minimum 0. |
| Output field | Interpretation | Returned shape |
|---|---|---|
| interval | Interval | Required. Finite number. |
| minimumInterval | Minimum Interval | Required. Finite number. |
| maximumInterval | Maximum Interval | Required. Finite number. |
{
"input": {
"infectorInfection": 10,
"infecteeInfection": 15,
"infectorUncertainty": 1,
"infecteeUncertainty": 2
},
"output": {
"interval": 5,
"minimumInterval": 2,
"maximumInterval": 8
}
}Limitations and assumptions
- Each uncertainty input is interpreted as a symmetric half-width around its supplied infection coordinate. The lower interval bound may be negative even though the central interval is nonnegative. These are arithmetic extremes, not statistical confidence limits or proof of transmission linkage.
- Inputs must satisfy both the field types and the cross-field conditions above. Invalid input causes an error; a successful false flag or documented placeholder is a different result.
- Numeric calculations use binary floating point unless exact decimal-integer arithmetic is explicitly stated. No hidden measurement tolerance or decimal rounding is added; nonfinite or out-of-contract results are rejected. Numeric signed-zero results are exported as zero.
Alternative or Complementary methods
Use an explicit calendar conversion for real dates and a suitable transmission or censoring model for inference beyond these local time calculations.
References
Similar or alternative tools
- Onset Date Partial Interval Width
Return width = latestDay - earliestDay, adding one when inclusiveDays is true.
- Infection Test Left Censor Interval Token Tool
Preserve explicitly supplied infection-test timing bounds and censoring code without imputing infection time.