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Study Assesses Impact of "Superspreaders" of Disea

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aspergian_mutant
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17 Nov 2005, 9:59 pm

Study Assesses Impact of "Superspreaders" of Disease
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID ... 414B7F0000



aspergian_mutant
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17 Nov 2005, 10:00 pm

We are our own lab rat's



kevv729
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19 Nov 2005, 5:42 am

aspergian_mutant wrote:
We are our own lab rat's
Now that is one of the best things that You have ever said I think.


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20 Nov 2005, 11:52 am

Are there genetic superspreaders or are superspreaders just people who frequently come into contact with more people via the transmission methods, like sex for AIDS, or people who are big hand-rail huggers and end up leaving the viruses on the hand-rails?

It didn't make it clear whether it was genetic or behavioral...


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25 Nov 2005, 7:36 pm

Probably both, Sophist. I was looking at some data and graphs from the beginning of the HIV epidemic in New York last year and there was one person who spread it to about 30 other people (directly). Others didn't spread it at all.

Some can be behavoral (how many people did he choose to come into sexual contact with) versus something like the common cold which spreads by casual contact would be more genetic, I think. :|


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