Genomic epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in a university outbreak setting and implications for public health planning
Nickbakhsh S., Hughes J., Christofidis N., Griffiths E., Shaaban S., Enright J., Smollett K., Nomikou K., Palmalux N., Tong L., Carmichael S., Sreenu VB., Orton R., Goldstein EJ., Tomb RM., Robson SC., Connor TR., Loman NJ., Golubchik T., Nunez RTM., Bonsall D., Rambaut A., Snell LB., Livett R., Ludden C., Corden S., Nastouli E., Nebbia G., Johnston I., Lythgoe K., Torok ME., Goodfellow IG., Prieto JA., Saeed K., Jackson DK., Houlihan C., Frampton D., Hamilton WL., Witney AA., Bucca G., Pope CF., Moore C., Thomson EC., Harrison EM., Smith CP., Rogan F., Beckwith SM., Murray A., Singleton D., Eastick K., Sheridan LA., Randell P., Jackson LM., Ariani CV., Gonçalves S., Fairley DJ., Loose MW., Watkins J., Moses S., Nicholls S., Bull M., Amato R., Smith DL., Aanensen DM., Barrett JC., Aggarwal D., Shepherd JG., Curran MD., Parmar S., Parker MD., Williams C., Glaysher S., Underwood AP., Bashton M., Pacchiarini N., Loveson KF., Byott M., Carabelli AM., Templeton KE., de Silva TI., Wang D., Langford CF., Sillitoe J., Gunson RN., Cottrell S., O’Grady J., Kwiatkowski D., Lillie PJ., Cortes N., Moore N., Thomas C., Burns PJ., Mahungu TW., Liggett S., Beckett AH., Holden MTG., Levett LJ., Osman H., Hassan-Ibrahim MO., Simpson DA., Chand M., Gupta RK., Darby AC., Paterson S., Pybus OG., Volz EM., de Angelis D., Robertson DL., Page AJ., Martincorena I., Aigrain L., Bassett AR., Wong N., Taha Y., Erkiert MJ., Chapman MHS., Dewar R., McHugh MP., Mookerjee S., Aplin S., Harvey M., Sass T., Umpleby H., Wheeler H., McKenna JP., Warne B., Taylor JF., Chaudhry Y., Izuagbe R., Jahun AS., Young GR., McMurray C., McCann CM., Nelson A., Elliott S., Lowe H., Price A., Crown MR., Rey S., Roy S., Temperton B., Shaaban S., Hesketh AR., Laing KG., Monahan IM., Heaney J., Pelosi E., Silviera S., Wilson-Davies E., Fryer H., Adams H., du Plessis L., Johnson R., Harvey WT., Hughes J., Orton RJ., Spurgin LG., Bourgeois Y., Ruis C., O’Toole Á., Gourtovaia M., Sanderson T., Fraser C., Edgeworth J., Breuer J., Michell SL., Todd JA., John M., Buck D., Gajee K., Kay GL., Peacock SJ., Heyburn D., Kitchman K., McNally A., Pritchard DT., Dervisevic S., Muir P., Robinson E., Vipond BB., Ramadan NA., Jeanes C., Weldon D., Catalan J., Jones N., da Silva Filipe A., Williams C., Fuchs M., Miskelly J., Jeffries AR., Oliver K., Park NR., Ash A., Koshy C., Barrow M., Buchan SL., Mantzouratou A., Clark G., Holmes CW., Campbell S., Davis T., Tan NK., Brown JR., Harris KA., Kidd SP., Grant PR., Xu-McCrae L., Cox A., Madona P., Pond M., Randell PA., Withell KT., Williams C., Graham C., Denton-Smith R., Swindells E., Turnbull R., Sloan TJ., Bosworth A., Hutchings S., Pymont HM., Casey A., Ratcliffe L., Jones CR., Knight BA., Haque T., Hart J., Irish-Tavares D., Witele E., Mower C., Watson LK., Collins J., Eltringham G., Crudgington D., Macklin B., Iturriza-Gomara M., Lucaci AO., McClure PC., Carlile M., Holmes N., Moore C., Storey N., Rooke S., Yebra G., Craine N., Perry M., Alikhan N-F., Bridgett S., Cook KF., Fearn C., Goudarzi S., Lyons RA., Williams T., Haldenby ST., Durham J., Leonard S., Davies RM., Batra R., Blane B., Spyer MJ., Smith P., Yavus M., Williams RJ., Mahanama AIK., Samaraweera B., Girgis ST., Hansford SE., Green A., Beaver C., Bellis KL., Dorman MJ., Kay S., Prestwood L., Rajatileka S., Quick J., Poplawski R., Reynolds N., Mack A., Morriss A., Whalley T., Patel B., Georgana I., Hosmillo M., Pinckert ML., Stockton J., Henderson JH., Hollis A., Stanley W., Yew WC., Myers R., Thornton A., Adams A., Annett T., Asad H., Birchley A., Coombes J., Evans JM., Fina L., Gatica-Wilcox B., Gilbert L., Graham L., Hey J., Hilvers E., Jones S., Jones H., Kumziene-Summerhayes S., McKerr C., Powell J., Pugh G., Taylor S., Trotter AJ., Williams CA., Kermack LM., Foulkes BH., Gallis M., Hornsby HR., Louka SF., Pohare M., Wolverson P., Zhang P., MacIntyre-Cockett G., Trebes A., Moll RJ., Ferguson L., Goldstein EJ., Maclean A., Tomb R., Starinskij I., Thomson L., Southgate J., Kraemer MUG., Raghwani J., Zarebski AE., Boyd O., Geidelberg L., Illingworth CJ., Jackson C., Pascall D., Vattipally S., Freeman TM., Hsu SN., Lindsey BB., James K., Lewis K., Tonkin-Hill G., Tovar-Corona JM., Cox M., Abudahab K., Menegazzo M., Taylor BEW., Yeats CA., Mukaddas A., Wright DW., de Oliveira Martins L., Colquhoun R., Hill V., Jackson B., McCrone JT., Medd N., Scher E., Keatley J-P., Curran T., Morgan S., Maxwell P., Smith K., Eldirdiri S., Kenyon A., Holmes AH., Price JR., Wyatt T., Mather AE., SkvortsovHartley TJA., Guest M., Kitchen C., Merrick I., Munn R., Bertolusso B., Lynch J., Vernet G., Kirk S., Wastnedge E., Stanley R., Idle G., Bradley DT., Poyner J., Mori M., Jones O., Wright V., Brooks E., Churcher CM., Fragakis M., Galai K., Jermy A., Judges S., McManus GM., Smith KS., Westwick E., Attwood SW., Bolt F., Davies A., De Lacy E., Downing F., Edwards S., Meadows L., Jeremiah S., Smith N., Foulser L., Charalampous T., Patel A., Berry L., Boswell T., Fleming VM., 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Dabrera G., Ellaby N., Gallagher E., Hubb J., Lackenby A., Lee D., Manesis N., Mbisa T., Platt S., Twohig KA., Morgan M., Aydin A., Baker DJ., Foster-Nyarko E., Prosolek SJ., Rudder S., Baxter C., Carvalho SF., Lavin D., Mariappan A., Radulescu C., Singh A., Tang M., Morcrette H., Bayzid N., Cotic M., Balcazar CE., Gallagher MD., Maloney D., Stanton TD., Williamson KA., Manley R., Michelsen ML., Sambles CM., Studholme DJ., Warwick-Dugdale J., Eccles R., Gemmell M., Gregory R., Hughes M., Nelson C., Rainbow L., Vamos EE., Webster HJ., Whitehead M., Wierzbicki C., Angyal A., Green LR., Whiteley M., Betteridge E., Bronner IF., Farr BW., Goodwin S., Lensing SV., McCarthy SA., Quail MA., Rajan D., Redshaw NM., Scott C., Shirley L., Thurston SAJ., Rowe W., Gaskin A., Le-Viet T., Bonfield J., Liddle J., Whitwham A., Templeton K., Gunson RN., da Silva Filipe A., Milosevic C., Thomson E., Robertson DL., Holden MTG., Illingworth CJR., Smith-Palmer A.
AbstractWhole genome sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 has occurred at an unprecedented scale, and can be exploited for characterising outbreak risks at the fine-scale needed to inform control strategies. One setting at continued risk of COVID-19 outbreaks are higher education institutions, associated with student movements at the start of term, close living conditions within residential halls, and high social contact rates. Here we analysed SARS-CoV-2 whole genome sequences in combination with epidemiological data to investigate a large cluster of student cases associated with University of Glasgow accommodation in autumn 2020, Scotland. We identified 519 student cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection associated with this large cluster through contact tracing data, with 30% sequencing coverage for further analysis. We estimated at least 11 independent introductions of SARS-CoV-2 into the student population, with four comprising the majority of detected cases and consistent with separate outbreaks. These four outbreaks were curtailed within a week following implementation of control measures. The impact of student infections on the local community was short-term despite an underlying increase in community infections. Our study highlights the need for context-specific information in the formation of public health policy for higher educational settings.