The use of a formal sensitivity analysis on epidemic models with immune protection from maternally acquired antibodies*

This paper considers the outcome of a formal sensitivity analysis on a series of epidemic model structures developed to study the population level effects of maternal antibodies. The analysis is used to compare the potential influence of maternally acquired immunity on various age and time domain observations of infection and serology, with and without seasonality. The results of the analysis indicate that time series observations are largely insensitive to variations in the average duration of protection from maternal antibodies, and that age related empirical data are likely to be most appropriate for estimating these characteristics.