Abstract

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Colombia was first diagnosed in a traveler arriving from Italy on February 26, 2020. However, limited data are available on the origins and number of introductions of COVID-19 into the country. We sequenced the causative agent of COVID-19, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), from 43 clinical samples we collected, along with another 79 genome sequences available from Colombia. We investigated the emergence and importation routes for SARS-CoV-2 into Colombia by using epidemiologic, historical air travel, and phylogenetic observations. Our study provides evidence of multiple introductions, mostly from Europe, and documents >12 lineages. Phylogenetic findings validate the lineage diversity, support multiple importation events, and demonstrate the evolutionary relationship of epidemiologically linked transmission chains. Our results reconstruct the early evolutionary history of SARS-CoV-2 in Colombia and highlight the advantages of genome sequencing to complement COVID-19 outbreak investigations.

Highlights

  • Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Colombia was first diagnosed in a traveler arriving from Italy on February 26, 2020

  • Genomic epidemiology relies on phylogenetic analysis and has enabled researchers across the world to detect SARSCoV-2 emergence in humans, reveal the importation and local transmission chains not detected by travel history and traditional contact-tracing strategies, and trace the geographic spread and prevalence of strains bearing specific mutations of epidemiologic relevance

  • Epidemiologic Investigation of SARS-CoV-2 Introductions, Contact-Tracing, and Community Transmission In Colombia, preventive isolation and monitoring for passengers arriving from China, Italy, France, and Spain started on March 10, 2020

Read more

Summary

Introduction

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Colombia was first diagnosed in a traveler arriving from Italy on February 26, 2020. Our results reconstruct the early evolutionary history of SARS-CoV-2 in Colombia and highlight the advantages of genome sequencing to complement COVID-19 outbreak investigations. The unprecedented global health and societal emergency posed by the COVID-19 pandemic urged data sharing and faster-than-ever outbreak research developments that are reflected in the >37,000 complete SARS-CoV-2 genomes made available through. Genomic Epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2, Colombia public databases, mainly GISAID Genomic epidemiology relies on phylogenetic analysis and has enabled researchers across the world to detect SARSCoV-2 emergence in humans, reveal the importation and local transmission chains not detected by travel history and traditional contact-tracing strategies, and trace the geographic spread and prevalence of strains bearing specific mutations of epidemiologic relevance

Methods
Results
Conclusion
Full Text
Published version (Free)

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call