Eurosurveillance, Volume 20, Issue 25, 25 June 2015
Rapid communications
The role of superspreading in Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) transmission
A J Kucharski1, C L Althaus (
)2
Citation style for this article: Kucharski AJ, Althaus CL. The role of superspreading in Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) transmission. Euro Surveill. 2015;20(25):pii=21167. Available online: http://www.eurosurveillance.org/View...rticleId=21167
Date of submission: 15 June 2015
As at 15 June 2015, a large transmission cluster of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) was ongoing in South Korea. To examine the potential for such events, we estimated the level of heterogeneity in MERS-CoV transmission by analysing data on cluster size distributions. We found substantial potential for superspreading; even though it is likely that R0 < 1 overall, our analysis indicates that cluster sizes of over 150 cases are not unexpected for MERS-CoV infection.
full article
Rapid communications
The role of superspreading in Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) transmission
A J Kucharski1, C L Althaus (
- Centre for the Mathematical Modelling of Infectious Diseases, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
- Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine (ISPM), University of Bern, Berne, Switzerland
Citation style for this article: Kucharski AJ, Althaus CL. The role of superspreading in Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) transmission. Euro Surveill. 2015;20(25):pii=21167. Available online: http://www.eurosurveillance.org/View...rticleId=21167
Date of submission: 15 June 2015
As at 15 June 2015, a large transmission cluster of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) was ongoing in South Korea. To examine the potential for such events, we estimated the level of heterogeneity in MERS-CoV transmission by analysing data on cluster size distributions. We found substantial potential for superspreading; even though it is likely that R0 < 1 overall, our analysis indicates that cluster sizes of over 150 cases are not unexpected for MERS-CoV infection.
full article