1. Coast-to-Coast Spread of SARS-CoV-2 during the Early Epidemic in the United States.
- Author
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Fauver JR, Petrone ME, Hodcroft EB, Shioda K, Ehrlich HY, Watts AG, Vogels CBF, Brito AF, Alpert T, Muyombwe A, Razeq J, Downing R, Cheemarla NR, Wyllie AL, Kalinich CC, Ott IM, Quick J, Loman NJ, Neugebauer KM, Greninger AL, Jerome KR, Roychoudhury P, Xie H, Shrestha L, Huang ML, Pitzer VE, Iwasaki A, Omer SB, Khan K, Bogoch II, Martinello RA, Foxman EF, Landry ML, Neher RA, Ko AI, and Grubaugh ND
- Subjects
- Betacoronavirus isolation & purification, COVID-19, Connecticut epidemiology, Coronavirus Infections epidemiology, Coronavirus Infections virology, Epidemiological Monitoring, Humans, Likelihood Functions, Pandemics, Phylogeny, Pneumonia, Viral epidemiology, Pneumonia, Viral virology, SARS-CoV-2, United States epidemiology, Washington epidemiology, Betacoronavirus genetics, Coronavirus Infections transmission, Pneumonia, Viral transmission, Travel legislation & jurisprudence
- Abstract
The novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 was first detected in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States in January 2020, with subsequent COVID-19 outbreaks detected in all 50 states by early March. To uncover the sources of SARS-CoV-2 introductions and patterns of spread within the United States, we sequenced nine viral genomes from early reported COVID-19 patients in Connecticut. Our phylogenetic analysis places the majority of these genomes with viruses sequenced from Washington state. By coupling our genomic data with domestic and international travel patterns, we show that early SARS-CoV-2 transmission in Connecticut was likely driven by domestic introductions. Moreover, the risk of domestic importation to Connecticut exceeded that of international importation by mid-March regardless of our estimated effects of federal travel restrictions. This study provides evidence of widespread sustained transmission of SARS-CoV-2 within the United States and highlights the critical need for local surveillance., Competing Interests: Declaration of Interests A.L.W. is the principal investigator on a research grant from Pfizer to Yale University and has received consulting fees for participation in advisory boards for Pfizer., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)
- Published
- 2020
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