Genomic epidemiology reveals multiple introductions of SARS-CoV-2 from mainland Europe into Scotland
(2021) In Nature Microbiology 6(1). p.112-122- Abstract
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was first diagnosed in Scotland on 1 March 2020. During the first month of the outbreak, 2,641 cases of COVID-19 led to 1,832 hospital admissions, 207 intensive care admissions and 126 deaths. We aimed to identify the source and number of introductions of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) into Scotland using a combined phylogenetic and epidemiological approach. Sequencing of 1,314 SARS-CoV-2 viral genomes from available patient samples enabled us to estimate that SARS-CoV-2 was introduced to Scotland on at least 283 occasions during February and March 2020. Epidemiological analysis confirmed that early introductions of SARS-CoV-2 originated from mainland Europe (the majority... (More)
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was first diagnosed in Scotland on 1 March 2020. During the first month of the outbreak, 2,641 cases of COVID-19 led to 1,832 hospital admissions, 207 intensive care admissions and 126 deaths. We aimed to identify the source and number of introductions of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) into Scotland using a combined phylogenetic and epidemiological approach. Sequencing of 1,314 SARS-CoV-2 viral genomes from available patient samples enabled us to estimate that SARS-CoV-2 was introduced to Scotland on at least 283 occasions during February and March 2020. Epidemiological analysis confirmed that early introductions of SARS-CoV-2 originated from mainland Europe (the majority from Italy and Spain). We identified subsequent early outbreaks in the community, within healthcare facilities and at an international conference. Community transmission occurred after 2 March, 3 weeks before control measures were introduced. Earlier travel restrictions or quarantine measures, both locally and internationally, would have reduced the number of COVID-19 cases in Scotland. The risk of multiple reintroduction events in future waves of infection remains high in the absence of population immunity.
(Less)
- author
- author collaboration
- publishing date
- 2021-01
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Adult, Aged, COVID-19/epidemiology, Europe/epidemiology, Genome, Viral, High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Molecular Epidemiology, Phylogeny, SARS-CoV-2/genetics, Spain/epidemiology, Travel/statistics & numerical data
- in
- Nature Microbiology
- volume
- 6
- issue
- 1
- pages
- 11 pages
- publisher
- Springer Nature
- external identifiers
-
- pmid:33349681
- scopus:85097954045
- ISSN
- 2058-5276
- DOI
- 10.1038/s41564-020-00838-z
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- no
- additional info
- These authors jointly supervised this work: Matthew T. G. Holden, David L. Robertson, Kate Templeton, Emma C. Thomson.
- id
- 78383e20-402a-414e-84a1-8d98ff705213
- date added to LUP
- 2021-04-08 16:16:17
- date last changed
- 2024-06-15 09:34:32
@article{78383e20-402a-414e-84a1-8d98ff705213,
abstract = {{<p>Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was first diagnosed in Scotland on 1 March 2020. During the first month of the outbreak, 2,641 cases of COVID-19 led to 1,832 hospital admissions, 207 intensive care admissions and 126 deaths. We aimed to identify the source and number of introductions of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) into Scotland using a combined phylogenetic and epidemiological approach. Sequencing of 1,314 SARS-CoV-2 viral genomes from available patient samples enabled us to estimate that SARS-CoV-2 was introduced to Scotland on at least 283 occasions during February and March 2020. Epidemiological analysis confirmed that early introductions of SARS-CoV-2 originated from mainland Europe (the majority from Italy and Spain). We identified subsequent early outbreaks in the community, within healthcare facilities and at an international conference. Community transmission occurred after 2 March, 3 weeks before control measures were introduced. Earlier travel restrictions or quarantine measures, both locally and internationally, would have reduced the number of COVID-19 cases in Scotland. The risk of multiple reintroduction events in future waves of infection remains high in the absence of population immunity.</p>}},
author = {{da Silva Filipe, Ana and Shepherd, James G and Williams, Thomas and Hughes, Joseph and Aranday-Cortes, Elihu and Asamaphan, Patawee and Ashraf, Shirin and Balcazar Lopez, Carlos Enrique and Brunker, Kirstyn and Campbell, Alasdair and Carmichael, Stephen and Davis, Chris and Dewar, Rebecca and Gallagher, Michael D and Gunson, Rory and Hill, Verity and Ho, Antonia and Jackson, Ben and James, Edward and Jesudason, Natasha and Johnson, Natasha and McWilliam Leitch, E Carol and Li, Kathy and MacLean, Alasdair and Mair, Daniel and McAllister, David A and McCrone, John T and McDonald, Sarah E and McHugh, Martin P and Morris, A Keith and Nichols, Jenna and Niebel, Marc and Nomikou, Kyriaki and Orton, Richard J and O'Toole, Áine and Palmarini, Massimo and Parcell, Benjamin J and Parr, Yasmin A and Rambaut, Andrew and Rooke, Stefan and Shaaban, Sharif and Shah, Rajiv and Singer, Joshua B and Smollett, Katherine and Starinskij, Igor and Tong, Lily and Sreenu, Vattipally B and Wastnedge, Elizabeth and Holden, Matthew T G and Robertson, David L}},
issn = {{2058-5276}},
keywords = {{Adult; Aged; COVID-19/epidemiology; Europe/epidemiology; Genome, Viral; High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Molecular Epidemiology; Phylogeny; SARS-CoV-2/genetics; Spain/epidemiology; Travel/statistics & numerical data}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{1}},
pages = {{112--122}},
publisher = {{Springer Nature}},
series = {{Nature Microbiology}},
title = {{Genomic epidemiology reveals multiple introductions of SARS-CoV-2 from mainland Europe into Scotland}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41564-020-00838-z}},
doi = {{10.1038/s41564-020-00838-z}},
volume = {{6}},
year = {{2021}},
}