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

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

Gary Wong  1 , Wenjun Liu  1 , Yingxia Liu  2 , Boping Zhou  2 , Yuhai Bi  3 , George F Gao  4
Affiliations

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

Gary Wong et al. Cell Host Microbe. .

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.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Dynamics and the Role of Super-Spreaders in MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV Transmission (A and B) Simplified diagrams of super-spreading events driving the 2015 MERS-CoV (A) and 2003 SARS-CoV (B) outbreaks. Super-spreaders are shown in red. (C) The effect of super-spreaders during infection with a generic pathogen. Most infected cases have limited transmission levels, but infection of super-spreaders can rapidly increase the number of cases in the absence of early intervention, resulting in a (prolonged) outbreak or epidemic.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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