Friday, August 14, 2026
Science

Quality vs. quantity: Why 'super-shedders' may not be the superspreaders of disease outbreaks

A host that sheds an abundance of parasites might seem like an obvious disease-spreading threat. But new research suggests that shedding large volumes of parasites does not dictate transmission efficiency—and "super-shedders" may not be the superspreaders of infectious disease outbreaks.

Quality vs. quantity: Why 'super-shedders' may not be the superspreaders of disease outbreaks
Image: Phys.org
A host that sheds an abundance of parasites might seem like an obvious disease-spreading threat. But new research suggests that shedding large volumes of parasites does not dictate transmission efficiency—and "super-shedders" may not be the superspreaders of infectious disease outbreaks.

Originally published at Phys.org

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