Nature Communications (Aug 2022)
Regional connectivity drove bidirectional transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in the Middle East during travel restrictions
- Edyth Parker,
- Catelyn Anderson,
- Mark Zeller,
- Ahmad Tibi,
- Jennifer L. Havens,
- Geneviève Laroche,
- Mehdi Benlarbi,
- Ardeshir Ariana,
- Refugio Robles-Sikisaka,
- Alaa Abdel Latif,
- Alexander Watts,
- Abdalla Awidi,
- Saied A. Jaradat,
- Karthik Gangavarapu,
- Karthik Ramesh,
- Ezra Kurzban,
- Nathaniel L. Matteson,
- Alvin X. Han,
- Laura D. Hughes,
- Michelle McGraw,
- Emily Spencer,
- Laura Nicholson,
- Kamran Khan,
- Marc A. Suchard,
- Joel O. Wertheim,
- Shirlee Wohl,
- Marceline Côté,
- Amid Abdelnour,
- Kristian G. Andersen,
- Issa Abu-Dayyeh
Affiliations
- Edyth Parker
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, The Scripps Research Institute
- Catelyn Anderson
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, The Scripps Research Institute
- Mark Zeller
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, The Scripps Research Institute
- Ahmad Tibi
- Biolab Diagnostic Laboratories
- Jennifer L. Havens
- Bioinformatics and Systems Biology Graduate Program, University of California San Diego
- Geneviève Laroche
- Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, and Center for Infection, Immunity, and Inflammation, University of Ottawa
- Mehdi Benlarbi
- Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, and Center for Infection, Immunity, and Inflammation, University of Ottawa
- Ardeshir Ariana
- Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, and Center for Infection, Immunity, and Inflammation, University of Ottawa
- Refugio Robles-Sikisaka
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, The Scripps Research Institute
- Alaa Abdel Latif
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, The Scripps Research Institute
- Alexander Watts
- Bluedot
- Abdalla Awidi
- Cell Therapy Center, The University of Jordan
- Saied A. Jaradat
- Princess Haya Biotechnology Center, Jordan University of Science and Technology
- Karthik Gangavarapu
- Department of Human Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles
- Karthik Ramesh
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, The Scripps Research Institute
- Ezra Kurzban
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, The Scripps Research Institute
- Nathaniel L. Matteson
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, The Scripps Research Institute
- Alvin X. Han
- Department of Medical Microbiology & Infection Prevention, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam Institute for Infection and Immunity
- Laura D. Hughes
- Department of Integrative, Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute
- Michelle McGraw
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, The Scripps Research Institute
- Emily Spencer
- Scripps Research Translational Institute
- Laura Nicholson
- Scripps Research Translational Institute
- Kamran Khan
- Bluedot
- Marc A. Suchard
- Department of Human Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles
- Joel O. Wertheim
- Department of Medicine, University of California San Diego
- Shirlee Wohl
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, The Scripps Research Institute
- Marceline Côté
- Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, and Center for Infection, Immunity, and Inflammation, University of Ottawa
- Amid Abdelnour
- Biolab Diagnostic Laboratories
- Kristian G. Andersen
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, The Scripps Research Institute
- Issa Abu-Dayyeh
- Biolab Diagnostic Laboratories
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-32536-1
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 13,
no. 1
pp. 1 – 14
Abstract
The dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 transmission in the Middle East have been relatively under-studied. Here, the authors integrate genomic and travel data and show that introductions to the region were initially driven by intercontinental air travel, after which regional land travel became a more important driver.