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Volume 7, Issue 6

Genomic epidemiology of the first epidemic wave of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in Palestine Open Access

Abstract

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the novel coronavirus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, continues to cause a significant public-health burden and disruption globally. Genomic epidemiology approaches point to most countries in the world having experienced many independent introductions of SARS-CoV-2 during the early stages of the pandemic. However, this situation may change with local lockdown policies and restrictions on travel, leading to the emergence of more geographically structured viral populations and lineages transmitting locally. Here, we report the first SARS-CoV-2 genomes from Palestine sampled from early March 2020, when the first cases were observed, through to August of 2020. SARS-CoV-2 genomes from Palestine fall across the diversity of the global phylogeny, consistent with at least nine independent introductions into the region. We identify one locally predominant lineage in circulation represented by 50 Palestinian SARS-CoV-2, grouping with genomes generated from Israel and the UK. We estimate the age of introduction of this lineage to 05/02/2020 (16/01/2020–19/02/2020), suggesting SARS-CoV-2 was already in circulation in Palestine predating its first detection in Bethlehem in early March. Our work highlights the value of ongoing genomic surveillance and monitoring to reconstruct the epidemiology of COVID-19 at both local and global scales.

  • Received:
  • Accepted:
  • Published Online:
Keyword(s): COVID-19 , genomic epidemiology , minor allele frequency , phylogenetics and within-host genetic diversity
Funding
This study was supported by the:
  • Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (Award BB/R01356X/1)
    • Principle Award Recipient: FrançoisBalloux
  • University College London (Award Excellence Fellowship)
    • Principle Award Recipient: Lucyvan Dorp
© 2021 The Authors
  • This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. This article was made open access via a Publish and Read agreement between the Microbiology Society and the corresponding author’s institution.
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2021-06-22
2024-04-19
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Genomic epidemiology of the first epidemic wave of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in Palestine
M Gen 7, 000584 (2021); https://doi.org/10.1099/mgen.0.000584
/content/journal/mgen/10.1099/mgen.0.000584
/content/journal/mgen/10.1099/mgen.0.000584
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