Comment on ‘Genomic epidemiology of superspreading events in Austria reveals mutational dynamics and transmission properties of SARS-CoV-2.’
Published in Science Translational Medicine, 2021
We consider estimates of the SARS-CoV-2 transmission bottleneck size, defined as the number of virions that successfully seed infection in a recipient individual following infection from a donor individual. Equivalently, it is the number of viral particles from a person who transmits the infection that contribute genetically to the viral population in the recipient who contracts it. From our analysis, we conclude that transmission bottleneck sizes for SARS-CoV-2 are not on the order of 1000 virions as concluded by the authors but instead much smaller.
Recommended citation: Martin, M.A., Koelle, K. (2021). Comment on “Genomic epidemiology of superspreading events in Austria reveals mutational dynamics and transmission properties of SARS-CoV-2. Science Translational Medicine, 13, eabh1803. 10.1126/scitranslmed.abh1803.
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