MERS, SARS, and Ebola: The Role of Super-Spreaders in Infectious Disease

Gary Wong; Wenjun Liu; Yingxia Liu; Boping Zhou; Yuhai Bi; George F Gao

doi:10.1016/j.chom.2015.09.013

MERS, SARS, and Ebola: The Role of Super-Spreaders in Infectious Disease

Cell Host Microbe. 2015 Oct 14;18(4):398-401. doi: 10.1016/j.chom.2015.09.013.

Authors

Gary Wong¹, Wenjun Liu¹, Yingxia Liu², Boping Zhou², Yuhai Bi³, George F Gao⁴

Affiliations

¹ CAS Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; Center for Influenza Research and Early-warning (CASCIRE), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
² Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Immunity, Shenzhen Third People's Hospital, Shenzhen 518112, China.
³ CAS Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; Center for Influenza Research and Early-warning (CASCIRE), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Immunity, Shenzhen Third People's Hospital, Shenzhen 518112, China. Electronic address: beeyh@im.ac.cn.
⁴ CAS Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; Center for Influenza Research and Early-warning (CASCIRE), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Immunity, Shenzhen Third People's Hospital, Shenzhen 518112, China; Office of Director-General, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 102206, China. Electronic address: gaof@im.ac.cn.

Abstract

Super-spreading occurs when a single patient infects a disproportionate number of contacts. The 2015 MERS-CoV, 2003 SARS-CoV, and to a lesser extent 2014-15 Ebola virus outbreaks were driven by super-spreaders. We summarize documented super-spreading in these outbreaks, explore contributing factors, and suggest studies to better understand super-spreading.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Coronavirus Infections / epidemiology
Coronavirus Infections / transmission*
Coronavirus Infections / virology
Disease Outbreaks*
Disease Transmission, Infectious*
Ebolavirus / physiology
Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola / epidemiology
Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola / transmission*
Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola / virology
Humans
Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus / physiology
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome / epidemiology
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome / transmission*
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome / virology
Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus / physiology

Grants and funding

Canadian Institutes of Health Research/Canada