Know more

An article by Kai Kupferschmidt published in the journal Science provides interesting thoughts about the virus transmission. Researchers noted that many “superspreading events” appear to be responsible for most of the reported cases worldwide. It seems that some people can infect many others, whereas most don’t spread the virus. In addition to the reproduction number (R), scientists attempt to estimate the dispersion factor (k). Its value remains unclear, but recently Adam Kucharski of LSHTM estimated that k for COVID-19 is as low as 0.1, which would mean that about 10% of cases lead to 80% of the spread. Scientists are working on understanding why SARS-Cov-2 is spreading through cluster more than other known pathogens. They focus on the mode of transmission and individual patient’s characteristics. It seems that enclosed spaces, close contacts, singing, loud speaking and cold temperatures may create particularly risky situations. A better understanding of the disease transmission would help improve control measures.

Link : https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/05/why-do-some-covid-19-patients-infect-many-others-whereas-most-don-t-spread-virus-all#