Variant-specific introduction and dispersal dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 in New York City – from Alpha to Omicron
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Date
2023
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Public Library of Science
Abstract
Since the latter part of 2020, SARS-CoV-2 evolution has been characterised by the emergence of viral variants associated with distinct biological characteristics. While the main
research focus has centred on the ability of new variants to increase in frequency and impact
the effective reproductive number of the virus, less attention has been placed on their relative ability to establish transmission chains and to spread through a geographic area. Here,
we describe a phylogeographic approach to estimate and compare the introduction and dispersal dynamics of the main SARS-CoV-2 variants – Alpha, Iota, Delta, and Omicron – that
circulated in the New York City area between 2020 and 2022. Notably, our results indicate
that Delta had a lower ability to establish sustained transmission chains in the NYC area and
that Omicron (BA.1) was the variant fastest to disseminate across the study area. The analytical approach presented here complements non-spatially-explicit analytical approaches
that seek a better understanding of the epidemiological differences that exist among successive SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern
Description
Keywords
Covid-19, Public health, Bioinfomatics, New York, Phylogeography, Phylogenetics
Citation
Dellicour, S. et al. (2023). Variant-specific introduction and dispersal dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 in New York City – from Alpha to Omicron. PLoS pathogens, 19(4), e1011348. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1011348