SARS-CoV-2 Genome Analysis of Japanese Travelers in Nile River Cruise

SARS-CoV-2 Genome Analysis of Japanese Travelers in Nile River Cruise

Tamano Matsui, Makoto Kuroda, Tsuyoshi Sekizuka, Michiyo Shinohara, Yusuke Kobayashi, Hajime Kamiya, Yushi Hachisu, Motoi Suzuki, Akihiko Tokaji, Masakatsu Taira, Kentaro Itokawa, Keisuke Kadokura, Sanae Kuramoto, Eri Nariai, Tsuyoshi Kishimoto

Japan has reported 26 cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) linked to cruise tours on the River Nile in Egypt between March 5 and 15, 2020. Here, we characterized the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) genome of isolates from 10 travelers who returned from Egypt and from patients possibly associated with these travelers. We performed haplotype network analysis of SARS-CoV-2 isolates using genome-wide single-nucleotide variations. Our analysis identified two potential Egypt-related clusters from these imported cases, and these clusters were related to globally detected viruses in different countries.

2020

imported case, cruise ship, haplotype network, genome epidemiology, Single nucleotide variations

DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.01316

Frontiers in Microbiology

Frontiers Media S.A.

Microbiology