Multiple early introductions of SARS-CoV-2 into a global travel hub in the Middle East

Ahmad Abou Tayoun,Zulfa Omar Deesi,Abiola Senok,Qutayba Hamid,Tom Loney,Alawi Alsheikh-Ali,Hanan Al Suwaidi,Rabih Halwani,Abdulmajeed Alkhajeh,Rupa Murthy Varghese,Divinlal Harilal,Norbert Nowotny,Hamda Khansaheb,Laila Mohamed Aldabal,Sathishkumar Ramaswamy,Rifat Hamoudi,Mohammed Uddin

doi:10.1038/s41598-020-74666-w

Abstract

International travel played a significant role in the early global spread of SARS-CoV-2. Understanding transmission patterns from different regions of the world will further inform global dynamics of the pandemic. Using data from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a major international travel hub in the Middle East, we establish SARS-CoV-2 full genome sequences from the index and early COVID-19 patients in the UAE. The genome sequences are analysed in the context of virus introductions, chain of transmissions, and possible links to earlier strains from other regions of the world. Phylogenetic analysis showed multiple spatiotemporal introductions of SARS-CoV-2 into the UAE from Asia, Europe, and the Middle East during the early phase of the pandemic. We also provide evidence for early community-based transmission and catalogue new mutations in SARS-CoV-2 strains in the UAE. Our findings contribute to the understanding of the global transmission network of SARS-CoV-2.

Highlights

International travel played a significant role in the early global spread of SARS-CoV-2
In view of Dubai’s important tourism and travel connections, we attempted to characterize the full-genome sequence of SARS-CoV-2 strains from the index and early patients with COVID-19 in Dubai to gain a deeper understanding of the molecular epidemiology of the outbreak in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East
Our findings suggest multiple independent spatiotemporal introductions of SARS-CoV-2 into the United Arab Emirates (UAE) where the majority of introductions (76%) were from Iran and Europe during two different time frames

Summary

Introduction

International travel played a significant role in the early global spread of SARS-CoV-2. Using data from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a major international travel hub in the Middle East, we establish SARS-CoV-2 full genome sequences from the index and early COVID-19 patients in the UAE. Phylogenetic analysis showed multiple spatiotemporal introductions of SARS-CoV-2 into the UAE from Asia, Europe, and the Middle East during the early phase of the pandemic. We provide evidence for early community-based transmission and catalogue new mutations in SARS-CoV-2 strains in the UAE. In view of Dubai’s important tourism and travel connections, we attempted to characterize the full-genome sequence of SARS-CoV-2 strains from the index and early patients with COVID-19 in Dubai to gain a deeper understanding of the molecular epidemiology of the outbreak in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East

Methods

Results

Conclusion