tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Trends Genet
. 2021 Sep 8;S0168-9525(21)00262-6.
doi: 10.1016/j.tig.2021.09.003. Online ahead of print.
Superspreading in the emergence of COVID-19 variants
Alberto Gómez-Carballa[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Jacobo Pardo-Seco[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Xabier Bello[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Federico Martinón-Torres[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Antonio Salas[SUP] 3 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
Superspreading and variants of concern (VOC) of the human pathogen severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are the main catalyzers of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. However, measuring their individual impact is challenging. By examining the largest database of SARS-CoV-2 genomes The Global Initiative on Sharing Avian Influenza Data [GISAID; n >1.2 million high-quality (HQ) sequences], we present evidence suggesting that superspreading has had a key role in the epidemiological predominance of VOC. There are clear signatures in the database compatible with large superspreading events (SSEs) coinciding chronologically with the worst epidemiological scenarios triggered by VOC. The data suggest that, without the randomness effect of the genetic drift facilitated by superspreading, new VOC of SARS-CoV-2 would have had more limited chance of success.
Keywords: B.1.1.7; B.1.617.2; SARS-CoV-2; superspreader; superspreader event; variant of concern.
. 2021 Sep 8;S0168-9525(21)00262-6.
doi: 10.1016/j.tig.2021.09.003. Online ahead of print.
Superspreading in the emergence of COVID-19 variants
Alberto Gómez-Carballa[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Jacobo Pardo-Seco[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Xabier Bello[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Federico Martinón-Torres[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Antonio Salas[SUP] 3 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 34556337
- PMCID: PMC8423994
- DOI: 10.1016/j.tig.2021.09.003
Abstract
Superspreading and variants of concern (VOC) of the human pathogen severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are the main catalyzers of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. However, measuring their individual impact is challenging. By examining the largest database of SARS-CoV-2 genomes The Global Initiative on Sharing Avian Influenza Data [GISAID; n >1.2 million high-quality (HQ) sequences], we present evidence suggesting that superspreading has had a key role in the epidemiological predominance of VOC. There are clear signatures in the database compatible with large superspreading events (SSEs) coinciding chronologically with the worst epidemiological scenarios triggered by VOC. The data suggest that, without the randomness effect of the genetic drift facilitated by superspreading, new VOC of SARS-CoV-2 would have had more limited chance of success.
Keywords: B.1.1.7; B.1.617.2; SARS-CoV-2; superspreader; superspreader event; variant of concern.