The role of superspreading in Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) transmission
EurosurveillancePublished 25 June 2015Open access
Adam J. Kucharski, Christian L. Althaus
Citations275
SJR quartileQ1
SJR score2.33
SNIP1.88
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TL;DR
A large transmission cluster of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERSCoV) was ongoing in South Korea and the level of heterogeneity in MERS-CoV transmission was estimated by analyzing data on cluster size distributions, finding substantial potential for superspreading.
Abstract
As at 15 June 2015, a large transmission cluster of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERSCoV)was ongoing in South Korea. To examine the potential for such events, we estimated the level of heterogeneity in MERS-CoV transmission by analyzing 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 forMERS-CoV infection.
Keywords
MathematicsMedicine
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