The SARS-CoV-2 virus was introduced into the United Kingdom more than 1,000 times in early 2020, according to researchers who analyzed more than 50,000 viral strains from the first wave of the COVID- pandemic virus. 19 in the UK. The virus lines introduced before the UK closed in March tended to become larger and more widespread across the country. Infectious diseases are made up of transmission chains, but little is known about how circulatory transmission lines change in size, spatial circulation, and survival. Understanding these traits could help target interventions, monitor changes with different effects on their human hosts, and more. COVID-19 infection in the UK in early 2020 was one of the largest in the world. It was also well represented by virus genomic sampling, largely due to efforts by the national COVID-19 Genomics UK (COG-UK) consortium. Through its consortium, the UK shares large amounts of virus genetic data publicly on a weekly basis. Here, researchers led by Louis du Plessis used data from this consortium and other sources to reconstruct where and when COVID-19 was introduced into the UK during the first wave (March – June 2019). They also used information on epidemiological factors and travel data. Prior to the lock-up on 23 March, more than 1,000 identifiable UK transmission lines – including eight of the largest, longest-running lines – were set up and circulating in the UK. UK, according to their results. Even as the largest and widest lines stood into the summer, the UK’s national lockout coincided with limited imports and reduced regional line diversity, say du Plessis and colleagues. Their findings suggest that earlier travel and quarantine interventions may have helped accelerate and reduce the intensity of the first wave of cases in the UK. They also show that the largest number of distribution chains imported into the UK came from Spain (33%), France (29%), followed by Italy (12%) – with China making up just 0.4% of imports. The results of the study show that it is possible to use genomic detection to trace individual virus transmission lines through time and space – an approach that could be used at regional, national and international levels. national agenda for future pandemics.
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