Identification of Epidemiological Traits by Analysis of SARS−CoV−2 Sequences

Identification of Epidemiological Traits by Analysis of SARS−CoV−2 Sequences

Huixiao Hong, Bohu Pan, Zuowei Ji, Sugunadevi Sakkiah, Wenjing Guo, Jie Liu, Tucker A. Patterson

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS−CoV−2) has caused the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic that began in late December 2019. The rapid spread of SARS−CoV−2 is primarily due to person-to-person transmission. To understand the epidemiological traits of SARS−CoV−2 transmission, we conducted phylogenetic analysis on genome sequences from >54K SARS−CoV−2 cases obtained from two public databases. Hierarchical clustering analysis on geographic patterns in the resulting phylogenetic trees revealed a co-expansion tendency of the virus among neighboring countries with diverse sources and transmission routes for SARS−CoV−2. Pairwise sequence similarity analysis demonstrated that SARS−CoV−2 is transmitted locally and evolves during transmission. However, no significant differences were seen among SARS−CoV−2 genomes grouped by host age or sex. Here, our identified epidemiological traits provide information to better prevent transmission of SARS−CoV−2 and to facilitate the development of effective vaccines and therapeutics against the virus.

2021

phylogenetic analysis, genome, covid-19, sequence, SARS‐CoV‐2, epidemiological trait

10.3390/v13050764

Epidemiology and Health

Korean Society of Epidemiology

Microbiology