1. What is Case Fatality Rate?

Case Fatality Rate (CFR) is a measure of the severity of a disease and is defined as the proportion of deaths among identified confirmed cases. It provides important information about disease severity and healthcare system effectiveness.

2. How Does the Calculator Work?

The calculator uses the CFR formula:

Where:

• \( deaths \) — Number of deaths from the disease
• \( cases \) — Total number of confirmed cases

Explanation: The formula calculates the percentage of confirmed cases that result in death, providing a measure of disease severity.

3. Importance of CFR Calculation

Details: CFR is crucial for understanding disease severity, assessing healthcare system performance, guiding public health interventions, and comparing disease impact across different populations and time periods.

4. Using the Calculator

Tips: Enter the number of deaths and total confirmed cases. Deaths must be less than or equal to cases, and cases must be greater than zero for valid calculation.

5. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1: What is a typical CFR range for diseases?
A: CFR varies widely by disease, from less than 0.1% for seasonal influenza to over 50% for diseases like Ebola in some outbreaks.

Q2: How does CFR differ from mortality rate?
A: CFR measures deaths among confirmed cases, while mortality rate measures deaths in the entire population at risk.

Q3: What factors can affect CFR calculations?
A: Testing availability, healthcare quality, age distribution of cases, and time of measurement can all significantly impact CFR values.

Q4: Why might CFR change during an outbreak?
A: CFR may decrease as healthcare systems adapt, testing increases, or milder cases are identified, or increase if healthcare systems become overwhelmed.

Q5: Are there limitations to CFR?
A: CFR can be biased if case detection is incomplete, if there's a time lag between case identification and outcome, or if cases and deaths are not properly matched.