SynthesiseLife2021
Heterogeneity in transmissibility and shedding SARS-CoV-2 via droplets and aerosols.
Synthesis in eLife, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 83 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
83 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 163 citations in OpenAlex.
- Host factors associated with respiratory particle emission and virus presence within respiratory particles: a systematic review.Frontiers in microbiology · 2025Pooled it
- Superspreading of SARS-CoV-2: a systematic review and meta-analysis of event attack rates and individual transmission patterns.Epidemiology and infection · 2024Pooled it
- Masks and respirators for prevention of respiratory infections: a state of the science review.Clinical microbiology reviews · 2024Pooled it
- A Review of Filtration Performance of Protective Masks.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Determining the optimal frequency of SARS-CoV-2 regular asymptomatic testing: A randomized feasibility trial in a home care setting.PloS one · 2024Trial
- Disentangling the drivers of heterogeneity in SARS-CoV-2 transmission from data on viral load and daily contact rates.PLoS computational biology · 2026Article
- Quantifying crowding-ventilation effect on respiratory infections.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Quantifying the role of pre-existing tissue resident cellular immunity in limiting respiratory virus transmission.PLoS pathogens · 2026Article
- An interseasonal outbreak of influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 related to a music festival, Denmark, August 2025.Euro surveillance : bulletin Europeen sur les maladies transmissibles = European communicable disease bulletin · 2025Article
- Estimating Re and overdispersion in secondary cases from the size of identical sequence clusters of SARS-CoV-2.PLoS computational biology · 2025Article
- Interpretation of indoor air surveillance for respiratory infections: a prospective longitudinal observational study in a childcare setting.EBioMedicine · 2025Observational
- An integrated airborne transmission risk assessment model for respiratory viruses: short- and long-range contributions.Journal of the Royal Society, Interface · 2025Article
- Evolution of parasite transmission dispersion.Royal Society open science · 2025Article
- Integrative multi-omics analysis to gain new insights into COVID-19.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Comparing strategies for the mitigation of SARS-CoV-2 airborne infection risk in tiered auditorium venues.Communications engineering · 2024Article
- Aerosolization ocular surface microorganisms accumulation effect during non-contact tonometer measurements.BMC ophthalmology · 2024Article
- Host behaviour driven by awareness of infection risk amplifies the chance of superspreading events.Journal of the Royal Society, Interface · 2024Article
- The multi-dimensional challenges of controlling respiratory virus transmission in indoor spaces: Insights from the linkage of a microscopic pedestrian simulation and SARS-CoV-2 transmission model.PLoS computational biology · 2024Article
23 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Background: Which virological factors mediate overdispersion in the transmissibility of emerging viruses remains a long-standing question in infectious disease epidemiology. Methods: Here, we use systematic review to develop a comprehensive dataset of respiratory viral loads (rVLs) of SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV-1 and influenza A(H1N1)pdm09. We then comparatively meta-analyze the data and model individual infectiousness by shedding viable virus via respiratory droplets and aerosols. Results: The analyses indicate heterogeneity in rVL as an intrinsic virological factor facilitating greater overdispersion for SARS-CoV-2 in the COVID-19 pandemic than A(H1N1)pdm09 in the 2009 influenza pandemic. For COVID-19, case heterogeneity remains broad throughout the infectious period, including for pediatric and asymptomatic infections. Hence, many COVID-19 cases inherently present minimal transmission risk, whereas highly infectious individuals shed tens to thousands of SARS-CoV-2 virions/min via droplets and aerosols while breathing, talking and singing. Coughing increases the contagiousness, especially in close contact, of symptomatic cases relative to asymptomatic ones. Infectiousness tends to be elevated between 1 and 5 days post-symptom onset. Conclusions: Intrinsic case variation in rVL facilitates overdispersion in the transmissibility of emerging respiratory viruses. Our findings present considerations for disease control in the COVID-19 pandemic as well as future outbreaks of novel viruses. Funding: Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Discovery Grant program, NSERC Senior Industrial Research Chair program and the Toronto COVID-19 Action Fund.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.