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Volume 11, Number 4—April 2005
Letter

Are SARS Superspreaders Cloud Adults?

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To the Editor: The primary mode of transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) appears to be through exposure to respiratory droplets and direct contact with patients and their contaminated environment. However, in summarizing their experiences during the SARS outbreaks in Toronto and Taiwan, McDonald et al. (1) note that certain persons were very efficient at transmitting SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV), and that in certain settings these so-called “superspreaders” played a crucial role in the epidemic. Airborne transmission by aerosols may have occurred in many of these cases. The same observation has been made by others (24), but the causes of these superspreading events and the reasons for the variable communicability of SARS-CoV are still unclear. Possible explanations include specific host characteristics (e.g., altered immune status, underlying diseases), higher level of virus shedding, or environmental factors (13).

We hypothesize that superspreading events might be caused by coinfection with other respiratory viruses. Such a mechanism has been identified in the transmission of Staphylococcus aureus. Eichenwald et al. (5) showed that newborns whose noses are colonized with this bacterium disperse considerable amounts of airborne S. aureus and become highly contagious (i.e., superspreaders) after infection with a respiratory virus (e.g., adenovirus or echovirus). These babies caused explosive S. aureus outbreaks in nurseries. Because they are literally surrounded by clouds of bacteria, they were called “cloud babies” (5). We have shown that the same mechanism also occurs in certain adult nasal carriers of S. aureus (“cloud adults”) (6,7). Reports indicate that viral infections of the upper respiratory tract facilitate the transmission of other bacteria, including Streptococcus pneumoniae, S. pyogenes, Haemophilus influenzae, and Neisseria meningitidis (8). Moreover, superspreading events have also been reported in outbreaks of viral diseases such as Ebola hemorrhagic fever and rubella (3).

Some observations suggest that coinfection with other respiratory viruses might cause superspreading events with airborne transmission of SARS-CoV. First, other viral pathogens, including human metapneumovirus, have been detected together with SARS-CoV in some patients with SARS (4). Second, few patients with SARS are superspreaders, and upper respiratory symptoms such as rhinorrhea and sore throat are a relatively uncommon manifestation of SARS (with prevalences of 14% and 16%, respectively) (4). Thus, some patients with SARS and upper respiratory symptoms might be coinfected with other respiratory viruses and become superspreaders. Interestingly, the report on a SARS superspreading event in Hong Kong explicitly states that the superspreader had presented with a “runny nose” (in addition to fever, cough, and malaise) (3). Therefore, upper respiratory symptoms might be a marker for highly infectious SARS patients. Future investigations, based upon either existing specimens from the last outbreak or newly collected specimens from any future outbreak, should focus on whether an association exits between SARS superspreading events and coinfection with other respiratory viruses.

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Stefano Bassetti*Comments to Author , Werner E. Bischoff†, and Robert J. Sherertz†
Author affiliations: *University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland; and; †Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA

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References

  1. McDonald  LC, Simor  AE, Su  IJ, Maloney  S, Ofner  M, Chen  KT, SARS in healthcare facilities, Toronto and Taiwan. Emerg Infect Dis. 2004;10:77781.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  2. Shen  Z, Ning  F, Zhou  W, He  X, Lin  C, Chin  DP, Superspreading SARS events, Beijing, 2003. Emerg Infect Dis. 2004;10:25660.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  3. Wong  T, Lee  C, Tam  W, Lau  JT, Yu  T, Lui  S, Cluster of SARS among medical students exposed to single patient, Hong Kong. Emerg Infect Dis. 2004;10:26976.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  4. Peiris  JS, Yuen  KY, Osterhaus  AD, Stöhr  K. The severe acute respiratory syndrome. N Engl J Med. 2003;349:243141. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  5. Eichenwald  HF, Kotsevalov  O, Fasso  LA. The “cloud baby”: an example of bacterial-viral interaction. Am J Dis Child. 1960;100:16173.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  6. Sherertz  RJ, Reagan  DR, Hampton  KD, Robertson  KL, Streed  SA, Hoen  HM, A cloud adult: the Staphylococcus aureus-virus interaction revisited. Ann Intern Med. 1996;124:53947.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  7. Bassetti  S, Bischoff  WE, Walter  M, Bassetti-Wyss  BA, Mason  L, Reboussin  BA, Dispersal of Staphylococcus aureus into the air associated with a rhinovirus infection. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2005;26:196203. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  8. Sherertz  RJ, Bassetti  S, Bassetti-Wyss  B. “Cloud” health-care workers. Emerg Infect Dis. 2001;7:2414. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar

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Cite This Article

DOI: 10.3201/eid1104.040639

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Please use the form below to submit correspondence to the authors or contact them at the following address:

Stefano Bassetti, Division of Infectious Diseases, University Hospital Basel, CH-4031 Basel, Switzerland; fax: 41-61-265-3198

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Page created: May 10, 2011
Page updated: May 10, 2011
Page reviewed: May 10, 2011
The conclusions, findings, and opinions expressed by authors contributing to this journal do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the authors' affiliated institutions. Use of trade names is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by any of the groups named above.
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