arXiv:2508.12260cs.AIq-bio.QM2025-08被引 6

用模拟数据训练的模型,无需真实数据就能预测多种传染病传播。

Mantis: A Foundation Model for Mechanistic Disease Forecasting

  • 全靠机制仿真训练,不依赖真实历史数据
  • 在16种疾病上均优于多数现有模型,新冠早期预测更胜一筹
  • 能泛化到未见传播方式,适合资源匮乏地区快速部署

新发疫情或资源有限地区的传染病预测常受限于大规模真实数据、定制化训练和专家调参,难以快速生成可靠预测。为应对这一挑战,我们开发了Mantis——一个完全基于机制仿真训练的基础模型,可直接应用于不同疾病、地区和预测目标,即使历史数据稀缺也能实现即插即用的预测。我们在16种传播模式各异的疾病上,对比了78个预测模型,评估了点预测精度(平均绝对误差)和概率性能(加权区间得分与覆盖率)。尽管训练中未使用任何真实数据,Mantis在回测早期新冠疫情预测时,其平均绝对误差低于美国疾控中心(CDC)COVID-19预测枢纽中所有模型。在其余所有疾病测试中,Mantis始终位列前两名。此外,其还能推广至训练数据中未包含的传播机制,表明其捕捉的是基本传播动力学而非疾病特异性记忆。这些能力说明,纯仿真训练的基础模型如Mantis,可为疾病预测提供通用、准确且在传统模型失效场景下仍可部署的实用基础。

原文摘要 · Abstract (English)

Infectious disease forecasting in novel outbreaks or low-resource settings is hampered by the need for large disease and covariate data sets, bespoke training, and expert tuning, all of which can hinder rapid generation of forecasts for new settings. To help address these challenges, we developed Mantis, a foundation model trained entirely on mechanistic simulations, which enables out-of-the-box forecasting across diseases, regions, and outcomes, even in settings with limited historical data. We evaluated Mantis against 78 forecasting models across sixteen diseases with diverse modes of transmission, assessing both point forecast accuracy (mean absolute error) and probabilistic performance (weighted interval score and coverage). Despite using no real-world data during training, Mantis achieved lower mean absolute error than all models in the CDC's COVID-19 Forecast Hub when backtested on early pandemic forecasts which it had not previously seen. Across all other diseases tested, Mantis consistently ranked in the top two models across evaluation metrics. Mantis further generalized to diseases with transmission mechanisms not represented in its training data, demonstrating that it can capture fundamental contagion dynamics rather than memorizing disease-specific patterns. These capabilities illustrate that purely simulation-based foundation models such as Mantis can provide a practical foundation for disease forecasting: general-purpose, accurate, and deployable where traditional models struggle.

疾病预测仿真训练基础模型传染病

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