Table 1.
Examples of EC
| Type | Host species | Disease name and causative agenta | Parasite type | Primary route of transmission | Documented mechanisms | Relevant host traitsb | Strength of evidencec | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Superspreader | Human | Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)/SARS-Coronavirus (F: Coronaviridae, G: Betacoronavirus) | Virus | Direct contact (bodily fluids); indirect contact (aerosol, close-range) | High network centrality; comorbidity; high pathogen shedding | St, T | D | [6] |
| Superspreader | Human | Ebola virus disease/Ebola virus (F: Filoviridae, G: Ebolavirus) | Virus | Direct contact (blood, bodily fluids) | High network centrality (including postmortem); long infectious period | St, T | D | [10] |
| Superspreader | Human | Lassa hemorrhagic fever/Lassa virus (F: Arenaviridae, G: Arenavirus) | Virus | Direct contact (blood, bodily fluids) | High pathogen shedding | St, T | D | [6] |
| Superspreader | Human | Measles/rubeola virus (F: Paramyxoviridae, G: Morbillivirus) | Virus | Direct contact (respiratory fluids); indirect contact (aerosol, close-range) | High network centrality; high pathogen shedding; high exposure (travel) | E, St, T | D | [6] |
| Superspreader | Human | Rubella (German measles)/rubella virus (F: Togaviridae, G: Rubivirus) | Virus | Indirect contact (aerosol, close-range) | High network centrality (crowding event); high pathogen shedding | E, St, T | D | [6] |
| Superspreader | Human | Smallpox/variola virus (F: Poxviridae, G: Orthopoxvirus) | Virus | Direct contact (respiratory fluids); indirect contact (aerosol, close-range) | High exposure (travel); high network centrality (including postmortem); high pathogen shedding | E, St, T | D | [6] |
| Superspreader | Jackals (Canis mesomelas and Canis adustus) and Racoons (Procyon lotor) | Rabies/rabies virus (F: Rhabdoviridae, G: Lyssavirus) | Virus | Direct contact (saliva) | High connectivity between distant parts of contact network (nomads or dispersers) | T | H | [59] |
| Superspreader | Human | Typhoid fever/Salmonella enterica typhi | Bacterium | Fecal–oral contamination; direct contact | High pathogen shedding; high network centrality (food services); increased tolerance (subclinical carrier) | E, St, T | D | [60] |
| Superspreader | Human | Tuberculosis/Mycobacterium spp. | Bacterium | Indirect contact (aerosol, close-range) | High network centrality (crowding event); long infectious period | T | D | [61] |
| Superspreader | Human | Mycoplasmosis/Mycoplasma pneumonia | Bacterium | Direct contact (bodily fluids); indirect contact (aerosol, close-range) | High network centrality (crowding event); high pathogen shedding | St, T | D | [6] |
| Superspreader | Great Reed Warblers (Acrocephalus arundinaceus); house sparrows (Passer domesticus) | Avian malaria/Plasmodium spp. and Leucocytozoon spp. | Protozoan | Vector (Culex and Aedes mosquitoes) | Genetic markers associated with presence/absence of infection | S, St | H | [29] |
| Superspreader | Domestic dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) | Chagas disease/Trypanosoma cruzi | Protozoan | Vector (Triatominae bugs) | Coinfection with worms (reduced immune response) | St | I | [62] |
| Superspreader | Human sickle-cell gene carrier (humans); Experimental mice strains (Mus musculus) | Rodent malaria/Plasmodium berghei | Protozoan | Vector (Anopheles mosquitoes) | Increased tolerance (subclinical carrier); long infectious period | S, St | H | [63] |
| Supershedder | Zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) | West Nile Virus/West Nile virus (F: Flaviviridae, G: Flavivirus) | Virus | Vector (mosquitoes) | High pathogen shedding (attractiveness to vectors) | E, St | D | [18] |
| Supershedder | Human | Skin infections (boils, impetigo, toxic shock syndrome, etc.)/Staphylococcus aureus | Bacterium | Indirect contact (aerosol, close-range); direct contact | High pathogen shedding (increased air dispersal caused by rhinovirus coinfection) | St, T | I | [64] |
| Supershedder | Domestic cattle (Bos taurus) | Gut infections (colonic escherichiosis, etc.)/Escherichia coli O157 | Bacterium | Indirect contact (food consumption, fomites); direct contact | High pathogen shedding; genetic variation in host tissue and pathogen strain causes reduced immunity | St, T | D | [65] |
| Supershedder | Mice (Mus musculus) | Salmonellosis/Salmonella enterica | Bacterium | Fecal–oral contamination, indirect contact (food consumption) | Physiological (changes in intestinal microbiota) | St | D | [66] |
| Supershedder | Water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) | Brucellosis/Brucella abortus | Bacterium | Direct contact; Indirect contact (food consumption, fomites) | High pathogen shedding | St, T | D | [67] |
| Supertransmitter | Human | HIV/AIDS/Human immunodeficiency virus (F: Retroviridae, G: Lentivirus) | Virus | Direct contact (sexual contact, bodily fluids) | High connectivity (increased no. of sexual interactions) | E, T | D | [68] |
| Superblocker | Crimson rosellas (Platycercus elegans) | Psittacine beak and feather disease/beak and feather disease virus (F: Circoviridae, G: Circovirus) | Virus | Direct contact; indirect contact (fomites); vertical transmission | Host genetic variation; genotype rarity predicts lower viral load | S, St | H | [69] |
| Superreceiver | Meerkats (Suricata suricatta) | Bovine tuberculosis/Mycobacterium bovis | Bacterium | Direct contact; indirect contact (aerosol) | High exposure (lower ranking individuals; grooming and aggression) | E, S | I | [70] |
| Superattractor; Superreceiver | Domestic dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) | Canine leishmaniasis/Leishmania chagasi | Protozoan | Vector (Lutzomyia longipalpis and flies) | High exposure (attractiveness to vectors) | E | D | [5] |
| Superspreader; Supershedder | Bank voles (Myodes glareolus) | Piroplasmosis (Babesiosis)/Babesia microti | Protozoan | Vector (Ixodes scapularis ticks) | Long infectious period; high pathogen shedding | St | D | [71] |
| Superattractor; Superreceiver | Human | Human malaria/Plasmodium spp. | Protozoan | Vector (Anopheles mosquitoes) | High exposure (attractiveness to vectors) | E | D | [72] |
| Superreceiver; superspreader | House finches (Haemorhous mexicanus) | Mycoplasmosis/Mycoplasma gallisepticum | Bacterium | Direct contact; Indirect contact (aerosols, close-range and fomites) | High network centrality (frequent common feeder use) | T | H | [73] |
Table entries were selected to demonstrate the diversity of forms of extreme competence across host–parasite systems and mechanisms and represent the strongest available examples of each host–parasite pair.
aF, Family; G, genus.
bE, exposure; S, susceptibility; St, suitability; T, transmissibility.
cD, direct evidence; H, hypothetical, EC inferred by authors of present paper; I, inferred, EC inferred by authors of original paper.