On the Chao and Zelterman estimators in a binomial mixture model

Abstract

Data from a surveillance system can be used to estimate the size of a disease population. For certain surveillance systems, a binomial mixture model arises as a natural choice. The Chao estimator estimates a lower bound of the population size. The Zelterman estimator estimates a parameter that is neither a lower bound nor an upper bound. By comparing the Chao estimator and the Zelterman estimator both theoretically and numerically, we conclude that the Chao estimator is better.