TY - JOUR
T1 - Full genome viral sequences inform patterns of SARS-CoV-2 spread into and within Israel
AU - Miller, Danielle
AU - Martin, Michael A.
AU - Harel, Noam
AU - Tirosh, Omer
AU - Kustin, Talia
AU - Meir, Moran
AU - Sorek, Nadav
AU - Gefen-Halevi, Shiraz
AU - Amit, Sharon
AU - Vorontsov, Olesya
AU - Shaag, Avraham
AU - Wolf, Dana
AU - Peretz, Avi
AU - Shemer-Avni, Yonat
AU - Roif-Kaminsky, Diana
AU - Kopelman, Naama M.
AU - Huppert, Amit
AU - Koelle, Katia
AU - Stern, Adi
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020, The Author(s).
PY - 2020/11/2
Y1 - 2020/11/2
N2 - Full genome sequences are increasingly used to track the geographic spread and transmission dynamics of viral pathogens. Here, with a focus on Israel, we sequence 212 SARS-CoV-2 sequences and use them to perform a comprehensive analysis to trace the origins and spread of the virus. We find that travelers returning from the United States of America significantly contributed to viral spread in Israel, more than their proportion in incoming infected travelers. Using phylodynamic analysis, we estimate that the basic reproduction number of the virus was initially around 2.5, dropping by more than two-thirds following the implementation of social distancing measures. We further report high levels of transmission heterogeneity in SARS-CoV-2 spread, with between 2-10% of infected individuals resulting in 80% of secondary infections. Overall, our findings demonstrate the effectiveness of social distancing measures for reducing viral spread.
AB - Full genome sequences are increasingly used to track the geographic spread and transmission dynamics of viral pathogens. Here, with a focus on Israel, we sequence 212 SARS-CoV-2 sequences and use them to perform a comprehensive analysis to trace the origins and spread of the virus. We find that travelers returning from the United States of America significantly contributed to viral spread in Israel, more than their proportion in incoming infected travelers. Using phylodynamic analysis, we estimate that the basic reproduction number of the virus was initially around 2.5, dropping by more than two-thirds following the implementation of social distancing measures. We further report high levels of transmission heterogeneity in SARS-CoV-2 spread, with between 2-10% of infected individuals resulting in 80% of secondary infections. Overall, our findings demonstrate the effectiveness of social distancing measures for reducing viral spread.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85094884073&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1038/s41467-020-19248-0
DO - 10.1038/s41467-020-19248-0
M3 - Article
C2 - 33139704
AN - SCOPUS:85094884073
SN - 2041-1723
VL - 11
JO - Nature Communications
JF - Nature Communications
IS - 1
M1 - 5518
ER -