February 10, 2021

SARS-CoV-2 Setting-Specific Transmission Rates: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Category: Article Summary

Topic: Transmission

Keywords (Tags): transmission

A systematic review and meta-analysis indicated that the highest SARS-CoV-2 transmission rates were within households, with a pooled secondary attack rate (SAR) of 21%. SARs were significantly higher when the duration of household exposure was longer than 5 days. SARs for contacts with family and friends were higher than those for low-risk casual contacts (6% vs. 1%). Estimates of SAR for asymptomatic index cases were about seven times lower than those for symptomatic index cases. There was some evidence for reduced transmission potential both from and to individuals under 20 years of age in the household context, but there were limited data to examine transmission in other settings like schools and workplaces.

Thompson et al. (Feb 9, 2021). SARS-CoV-2 Setting-Specific Transmission Rates: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Clinical Infectious Diseases. https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciab100