Abstract

Global and local whole genome sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 enables the tracing of domestic and international transmissions. We sequenced Viral RNA from 37 sampled Covid-19 patients with RT-PCR-confirmed infections across the UAE and developed time-resolved phylogenies with 69 local and 3,894 global genome sequences. Furthermore, we investigated specific clades associated with the UAE cohort and, their global diversity, introduction events and inferred domestic and international virus transmissions between January and June 2020. The study comprehensively characterized the genomic aspects of the virus and its spread within the UAE and identified that the prevalence shift of the D614G mutation was due to the later introductions of the G-variant associated with international travel, rather than higher local transmissibility. For clades spanning different emirates, the most recent common ancestors pre-date domestic travel bans. In conclusion, we observe a steep and sustained decline of international transmissions immediately following the introduction of international travel restrictions.

RAS ID

52322

Document Type

Journal Article

Date of Publication

3-1-2022

Volume

17

Issue

3 March

PubMed ID

35235585

School

School of Medical and Health Sciences

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Publisher

PLOS

Comments

Henschel, A., Feng, S. F., Hamoudi, R. A., Elbait, G. D., Damiani, E., Waasia, F., ... & UAE COVID-19 Collaborative Partnership. (2022). Travel ban effects on SARS-CoV-2 transmission lineages in the UAE as inferred by genomic epidemiology. PloS one, 17 (3), e0264682. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0264682

Download

Share

 
COinS
 

Link to publisher version (DOI)

10.1371/journal.pone.0264682