Image: Burnet Epidemiologist Professor Mike Toole says the COVID-19 cluster which emerged from Chadstone shopping centre is “modest” so far (source: ABC News)
Burnet research has highlighted the role of superspreaders of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, emphasising the importance of both forward and backward contact tracing to halt the virus’ spread.
Unlike influenza, diseases caused by coronaviruses have been shown to spread in clusters rather than in a linear fashion, with 10 percent of infected COVID-19 cases infecting more than 80 percent of people.
Burnet Institute epidemiologist, Professor Mike Toole AM told ABC Radio Melbourne the wide dispersion of a cluster can rapidly see the virus spread out of control.
“What is of concern is when a cluster spreads widely and that’s why contact tracing is so important,” Professor Toole said.
The research on COVID-19 superspreading, published by Burnet’s Know-C19 Hub, recommends ‘backward’ contact tracing in order to find the origins of a cluster so that previously unidentified infected individuals can be revealed.
Professor Toole said the recent Chadstone Shopping Centre cluster which has spread to over 30 people across Melbourne and the Mitchell Shire after originating in the city’s south east is a “modest” superspreader event, so far.
“Keep in mind more than 100 people were infected from a cluster linked to a Thai restaurant in Sydney,” he said.
He also drew comparisons to significant superspreading events earlier in 2020 in South Korea and Washington State in the USA which saw hundreds of people infected from one person, often from only a short time in close contact.
