1. What is Fatality Rate?

The fatality rate (also called case fatality rate or CFR) is the proportion of deaths from a certain disease compared to the total number of people diagnosed with the disease over a certain period of time.

2. How Does the Calculator Work?

The calculator uses the fatality rate formula:

Where:

• \( Deaths \) — Number of deaths caused by the disease
• \( Cases \) — Total number of diagnosed cases

Explanation: The formula calculates the percentage of cases that resulted in death.

3. Importance of Fatality Rate

Details: Fatality rate is a key metric in epidemiology that helps assess the severity of a disease, compare disease impact across populations, and evaluate the effectiveness of treatments.

4. Using the Calculator

Tips: Enter the number of deaths and total cases as whole numbers. Cases must be greater than zero for a valid calculation.

5. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1: What's the difference between fatality rate and mortality rate?
A: Fatality rate measures deaths among diagnosed cases, while mortality rate measures deaths in the entire population at risk.

Q2: What is considered a high fatality rate?
A: Rates vary by disease. For example, Ebola has CFR around 50%, while seasonal flu is typically under 0.1%.

Q3: Can fatality rate change over time?
A: Yes, CFR can change with improved treatments, healthcare capacity, or changes in case detection.

Q4: What are limitations of fatality rate?
A: CFR can be skewed by incomplete case detection, differences in testing, and time lags between diagnosis and outcome.

Q5: How is this different from infection fatality rate?
A: IFR includes all infections (symptomatic and asymptomatic), while CFR only includes diagnosed cases.