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Reference.org
Infectivity
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<p>In <a href="/facts/Epidemiology/wgTmxoMA">epidemiology</a>, infectivity is the ability of a <a href="/facts/Pathogen/axMXtV1M">pathogen</a> to establish an infection. More specifically, infectivity is the extent to which the pathogen can enter, survive, and multiply in a host. It is measured by the ratio of the number of people who become infected to the total number exposed to the pathogen. </p><p>Infectivity has been shown to <a href="/facts/Correlation/egkluAEm">positively correlate</a> with <a href="/facts/Virulence/TYmX1Fa6">virulence</a>, in plants. This means that as a pathogen's ability to infect a greater number of hosts increases, so does the level of harm it brings to the host. </p><p>A pathogen's infectivity is different from its <a href="/facts/Transmissibility_(epidemiology)/sSGEGhcd">transmissibility</a>, which refers to a pathogen's capacity to pass from one organism to another. </p>