Hi All,

the COVID-19 epidemics proposed the need to estimate the distribtion of the serial interval, i.e. the time between the start of symptoms in the primary patient (infector) and onset of symptoms in the patient receiving that infection from the infector (the infectee).

We frequently read that it follows a gamma distribution.
In Puglia, a region of Italy, we have our data where we can identify in several cases the infector and the infectee. Therefore we would like to estimate the appropriate distribution of the serial interval in our region.
In practice, we have the sympoms onset date of the infector and the sympoms onset date of the infectee/s.

Can someone suggest how to identify the distribution starting from our data?

Thanks.
Enzo