Importance of "Super-spreaders" in Infectious Disease Outbreaks

Entering Honduras during the H1N1 influenza
pandemic, June 2009

Here is an interesting article from Slate looking at the role of "super-spreaders" in infectious disease outbreaks. This refers to a sub-population of individuals who are more likely to spread an infectious disease than others; it is believed such "super-spreaders" played a role in the SARS pandemic. Identifying these individuals may have a role in managing global infectious disease outbreaks.

At the hospital level, Polgreen and colleagues have studied this phenomenon as it applies to hand hygiene and disease spread. Their work supports the idea that certain healthcare workers are more likely to spread an infectious disease, and has implications for targeting these individuals to prevent disease spread (via such things as optimizing hand hygiene, et cetera).  

Update on Novel Coronavirus in the Middle East

Arabian peninsula (wikipedia.org)

Here is the WHO update on the new coronavirus that was recently discovered in the Arabian peninsula. What is concerning is that this novel coronavirus, known for now as "hCoV-EMC," is (distantly) related to the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) coronavirus that caused a worldwide outbreak in 2003 with 8,098 cases and 774 deaths. With the hCoV-EMC virus all patients have been severely ill with acute respiratory disease; there have been 9 confirmed cases with 5 deaths as of November 30th.

The earliest reports of hCoV-EMC infection came from 2 retrospectively identified cases in Jordan in April of 2012. Cases have also been identified in Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Across the 9 confirmed cases there have been two "clusters" of infections, raising concern about human-to-human transmission or a common source of exposure.

SARS coronavirus (cdc.gov)

At this point we do not know how this virus is transmitted or what its natural reservoir is. Unlike the SARS virus, it does not appear to easily transmit between people.

We do know that patients with hCoV-EMC present with severe respiratory disease and the virus has been associated with high mortality. Vigilant surveillance of patients presenting with acute respiratory disease and unexplained pneumonias is needed, especially patients in (and with recent travel to) the Middle East.

SARS coronavirus (cdc.gov)

This infection is another reminder that new infectious diseases will continue to "emerge," and the medical community needs to be ever vigilant in identifying these early.