title: MERS, SARS, and Ebola: The Role of Super-Spreaders in Infectious Disease.
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.
authors.affiliation: 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.
authors.forename: Gary
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.affiliation: 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.
authors.forename: Wenjun
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Immunity, Shenzhen Third People's Hospital, Shenzhen 518112, China.
authors.forename: Yingxia
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Immunity, Shenzhen Third People's Hospital, Shenzhen 518112, China.
authors.forename: Boping
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: 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.
authors.forename: Yuhai
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Bi
authors.affiliation: 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.
authors.forename: George F
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: Gao
mesh_terms: D018352:Coronavirus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission* / Q000821:virology; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D018562:Disease Transmission, Infectious; D029043:Ebolavirus / Q000502:physiology; D019142:Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission* / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D065207:Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus / Q000502:physiology; D045473:Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus / Q000502:physiology; D045169:Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission* / Q000821:virology