The largest study yet of how COVID-19 is transmitted has revealed new information about the role of so-called super-spreaders in spreading the disease. The study was conducted in two Indian provimces and included more than 600,000 people.
Laxminarayan and his colleagues found that just 8% of people with COVID-19 accounted for 60% of the new infections observed among the contacts. Meanwhile, 7 out of 10 COVID-19 patients were not linked to any new cases.
The finding underscores the essential role of super-spreaders in the COVID-19 pandemic: One individual or event, such as in a poorly ventilated indoor space, can trigger a high number of new infections, while others might not transmit the virus at all.
It also looked at how children can spread COVID-19.
The study also found that although children younger than 17 were the least likely to die of COVID-19, they transmitted the virus at rates similar to the rest of the population, underscoring the idea that the disease doesn’t spare young people. One data point in particular holds implications for reopening schools: Children ages 5 to 17 passed the virus to 18% of close contacts their own age.
Antonio Salas, a Spanish researcher who has investigated the role of super-spreaders in the pandemic, said the study’s findings regarding children were important in light of “previous reports suggesting a minor role of children in the pandemic.”
No comments:
Post a Comment