Journal:Comprehensive analyses of SARS-CoV-2 transmission in a public health virology laboratory
| Full article title | Comprehensive analyses of SARS-CoV-2 transmission in a public health virology laboratory |
|---|---|
| Journal | Viruses |
| Author(s) | Zuckerman, Neta S.; Pando, Rakafet; Bucris, Efrat; Drori, Yaron; Lustig, Yaniv; Erster, Oran; Mor, Orna; Mendelson, Ella; Mandelboim, Michael |
| Author affiliation(s) | Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Israel Ministry of Health, Tel-Aviv University |
| Primary contact | Email: michalman at sheba dot health dot gov dot il |
| Year published | 2020 |
| Volume and issue | 12(8) |
| Article # | 854 |
| DOI | 10.3390/v12080854 |
| ISSN | 1999-4915 |
| Distribution license | Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International |
| Website | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/12/8/854/htm |
| Download | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/12/8/854/pdf (PDF) |
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This article should be considered a work in progress and incomplete. Consider this article incomplete until this notice is removed. |
Abstract
SARS-CoV-2 has become a major global concern as of December 2019, particularly affecting healthcare workers. As person-to-person transmission is airborne, crowded closed spaces have had high potential for rapid virus spread, especially early in the pandemic when social distancing and mask wearing were not mandatory. This retrospective study thoroughly investigates a small-scale SARS-CoV-2 outbreak in Israel’s central virology laboratory (ICVL) in mid-March 2020, in which six staff members and two related family members were infected. Suspicions regarding infection by contaminated surfaces in ICVL facilities were nullified by the negative results of a SARS-CoV-2 real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) analysis of swiped work surface samples. Complete SARS-CoV-2 genomes were sequenced, and mutation analyses showed inclusion of all samples to clades 20B and 20C, possessing the spike mutation D614G. Phylogenetic analysis clarified transmission events, confirming S1 as having infected at least three other staff members while refuting the association of a staff member’s infected spouse with the ICVL transmission cluster. Finally, serology tests exhibited IgG and IgA antibodies in all infected individuals and revealed the occurrence of asymptomatic infections in additional staff members. This study demonstrates the advantages of molecular epidemiology in elucidating transmission events and exemplifies the importance of good laboratory practice, physical distancing, and mask wearing in preventing SARS-CoV-2 spread, specifically in healthcare facilities.
Keywords: 2019-nCoV, SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19, staff, infection, next generation sequencing (NGS)
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This presentation is faithful to the original, with only a few minor changes to presentation. In some cases important information was missing from the references, and that information was added.
