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Inferring super-spreading from transmission clusters of COVID-19 in Hong Kong, Japan, and Singapore.
J Hosp Infect. 2020 Aug; 105(4):682-685.JH

Abstract

Super-spreading events in an outbreak can change the nature of an epidemic. Therefore, it is useful for public health teams to determine whether an ongoing outbreak has any contribution from such events, which may be amenable to interventions. We estimated the basic reproductive number (R0) and the dispersion factor (k) from empirical data on clusters of epidemiologically linked coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore. This allowed us to infer the presence or absence of super-spreading events during the early phase of these outbreaks. The relatively large values of k implied that large cluster sizes, compatible with super-spreading, were unlikely.

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Authors+Show Affiliations

JC School of Public Health and Primary Care, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China; Stanley Ho Centre for Emerging Infectious Diseases, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China; Shenzhen Research Institute of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, China. Electronic address: kkokwok@cuhk.edu.hk.

JC School of Public Health and Primary Care, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China.

JC School of Public Health and Primary Care, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China.

Stanley Ho Centre for Emerging Infectious Diseases, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China.

Division of Infectious Diseases, University Medicine Cluster, National University Hospital, Singapore.

JC School of Public Health and Primary Care, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China.

JC School of Public Health and Primary Care, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China.

JC School of Public Health and Primary Care, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China.

University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, Leicester, UK; Respiratory Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK. Electronic address: Julian.tang@uhl-tr.nhs.uk.

MeSH

BetacoronavirusCOVID-19Coronavirus InfectionsDisease OutbreaksDisease Transmission, InfectiousHong KongHumansJapanPandemicsPneumonia, ViralSARS-CoV-2Singapore

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article

Language

eng

PubMed ID

32446721

Citation

Kwok, K O., et al. "Inferring Super-spreading From Transmission Clusters of COVID-19 in Hong Kong, Japan, and Singapore." The Journal of Hospital Infection, vol. 105, no. 4, 2020, pp. 682-685.

Kwok KO, Chan HHH, Huang Y, et al. Inferring super-spreading from transmission clusters of COVID-19 in Hong Kong, Japan, and Singapore. J Hosp Infect. 2020;105(4):682-685.

Kwok, K. O., Chan, H. H. H., Huang, Y., Hui, D. S. C., Tambyah, P. A., Wei, W. I., Chau, P. Y. K., Wong, S. Y. S., & Tang, J. W. T. (2020). Inferring super-spreading from transmission clusters of COVID-19 in Hong Kong, Japan, and Singapore. The Journal of Hospital Infection, 105(4), 682-685. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhin.2020.05.027

Kwok KO, et al. Inferring Super-spreading From Transmission Clusters of COVID-19 in Hong Kong, Japan, and Singapore. J Hosp Infect. 2020;105(4):682-685. PubMed PMID: 32446721.

* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case

TY - JOUR T1 - Inferring super-spreading from transmission clusters of COVID-19 in Hong Kong, Japan, and Singapore. AU - Kwok,K O, AU - Chan,H H H, AU - Huang,Y, AU - Hui,D S C, AU - Tambyah,P A, AU - Wei,W I, AU - Chau,P Y K, AU - Wong,S Y S, AU - Tang,J W T, Y1 - 2020/05/22/ PY - 2020/03/05/received PY - 2020/05/18/accepted PY - 2020/5/25/pubmed PY - 2020/8/22/medline PY - 2020/5/25/entrez KW - COVID-19 KW - Hong Kong KW - Japan KW - Singapore KW - Super-spreading KW - Transmission clusters SP - 682 EP - 685 JF - The Journal of hospital infection JO - J Hosp Infect VL - 105 IS - 4 N2 - Super-spreading events in an outbreak can change the nature of an epidemic. Therefore, it is useful for public health teams to determine whether an ongoing outbreak has any contribution from such events, which may be amenable to interventions. We estimated the basic reproductive number (R0) and the dispersion factor (k) from empirical data on clusters of epidemiologically linked coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore. This allowed us to infer the presence or absence of super-spreading events during the early phase of these outbreaks. The relatively large values of k implied that large cluster sizes, compatible with super-spreading, were unlikely. SN - 1532-2939 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/32446721/Inferring_super_spreading_from_transmission_clusters_of_COVID_19_in_Hong_Kong_Japan_and_Singapore_ DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -