The Transmission of Scientific Knowledge: The Case of a "Super Spreader"

YOKOTA Yoko
Abstract:
This paper is a case study of the problems caused in the transmission of scientific knowledge. During the SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) outbreak in 2003, the scientific term "super spreader" became common knowledge because of its widespread appearance in mainstream news media. After exploring in detail the causes of this super spreader as they were presented in scientific communities at the time, I found that there were two ideas. One was the personal condition that focused on the person infected, while the other was the situational condition that the person was trapped in. Only one of the definitions - the one that focused on the person infected and not the situation - was used in the news media. The reason for the narrow usage of the term was that the message to prevent the spreading of SARS was very strong, and scientific communities used the term super spreader when they explained SARS. As the result of that, the media used the word "super spreader" to refer to an untouchable-type person. I point out here some of the negative effects involved in the transmission of scientific knowledge, arising because the term "super spreader" took on an exclusionistic meaning.


Keywords: Emerging diseases, SARS, Science communication