superspreader

A person infected with a pathogen who is responsible for spreading it to many other people.

In the SARS [severe acute respiratory syndrome] outbreak, New York forcibly quarantined a man suspected of having the disease after he refused to isolate himself. That's a real breach of liberty, but suppose he had been an irresponsible superspreader like Typhoid Mary and caused the disease to spin out of control?

Another SARS superspreader took the invader by the hand to Singapore's 1,200-bed Tan Tock Seng Hospital. Crowded emergency departments and highly mobile medical staff did the honors with more help from superspreaders. One patient alone infected 24 health-care workers, 15 patients, and 12 visitors. […] It [the SARS-CoV-1 virus] quickly found a superspreader in a dedicated hospital laundry attendant who ignored his diarrhea and pneumonia and doggedly stuck to his duties. The workaholic generated 137 infections among patients, doctors, and nurses.

An event or place which leads to the spread of an infectious disease to many people.

In June, the ACLU [American Civil Liberties Union], on behalf of half a dozen detainees housed in various Orange County jails, sued the sheriff in state court, arguing that the jails were superspreaders-in-waiting: the cramped quarters, inadequate cleaning protocols, and severely limited hygiene make jails an ideal hunting ground for the virus.

As school districts around the U.S. continue to grapple with whether to reopen classrooms amid the coronavirus pandemic, data shows Florida started in-person learning without turning schools into superspreaders.

A person or thing responsible for the widespread distribution of something regarded as dangerous or undesirable (for example, misinformation).

But whether they intend it or not, celebrities, politicians and others with large online followings can be superspreaders – not of the coronavirus but of dangerous or false information.

"We have also imposed penalties on nearly two dozen additional Pages, groups or accounts linked to these 12 people," Facebook said in a blogpost titled "How we're taking action against vaccine misinformation superspreaders".