Aggarwal, D;
Myers, R;
Hamilton, WL;
Bharucha, T;
Tumelty, NM;
Brown, CS;
Meader, EJ;
... COVID-19 Genomics UK (COG-UK) Consortium, .; + view all
(2021)
The role of viral genomics in understanding COVID-19 outbreaks in long-term care facilities.
Lancet Microbe
10.1016/S2666-5247(21)00208-1.
(In press).
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Abstract
We reviewed all genomic epidemiology studies on COVID-19 in long-term care facilities (LTCFs) that had been published to date. We found that staff and residents were usually infected with identical, or near identical, SARS-CoV-2 genomes. Outbreaks usually involved one predominant cluster, and the same lineages persisted in LTCFs despite infection control measures. Outbreaks were most commonly due to single or few introductions followed by a spread rather than a series of seeding events from the community into LTCFs. The sequencing of samples taken consecutively from the same individuals at the same facilities showed the persistence of the same genome sequence, indicating that the sequencing technique was robust over time. When combined with local epidemiology, genomics allowed probable transmission sources to be better characterised. The transmission between LTCFs was detected in multiple studies. The mortality rate among residents was high in all facilities, regardless of the lineage. Bioinformatics methods were inadequate in a third of the studies reviewed, and reproducing the analyses was difficult because sequencing data were not available in many facilities.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | The role of viral genomics in understanding COVID-19 outbreaks in long-term care facilities |
| Location: | England |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1016/S2666-5247(21)00208-1 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1016/S2666-5247(21)00208-1 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Health Informatics |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10136355 |
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