Genomic surveillance reveals multiple introductions of SARS-CoV-2 into Northern California

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has spread globally, with >365,000 cases in California as of 17 July 2020. We investigated the genomic epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in Northern California from late January to mid-March 2020, using samples from 36 patients spanning nine counties and the Grand Princess cruise ship. Phylogenetic analyses revealed the cryptic introduction of at least seven different SARS-CoV-2 lineages into California, including epidemic WA1 strains associated with Washington state, with lack of a predominant lineage and limited transmission among communities. Lineages associated with outbreak clusters in two counties were defined by a single base substitution in the viral genome. These findings support contact tracing, social distancing, and travel restrictions to contain the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in California and other states.

Source: ScienceNOW - July 29, 2020 Category: Science Authors: Deng, X., Gu, W., Federman, S., du Plessis, L., Pybus, O. G., Faria, N. R., Wang, C., Yu, G., Bushnell, B., Pan, C.-Y., Guevara, H., Sotomayor-Gonzalez, A., Zorn, K., Gopez, A., Servellita, V., Hsu, E., Miller, S., Bedford, T., Greninger, A. L., Roychoudh Tags: Epidemiology, Virology reports Source Type: news