Dataset Information

The first wave of the COVID-19 epidemic in Spain was associated with early introductions and fast spread of a dominating genetic variant.

ABSTRACT: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected the world radically since 2020. Spain was one of the European countries with the highest incidence during the first wave. As a part of a consortium to monitor and study the evolution of the epidemic, we sequenced 2,170 samples, diagnosed mostly before lockdown measures. Here, we identified at least 500 introductions from multiple international sources and documented the early rise of two dominant Spanish epidemic clades (SECs), probably amplified by superspreading events. Both SECs were related closely to the initial Asian variants of SARS-CoV-2 and spread widely across Spain. We inferred a substantial reduction in the effective reproductive number of both SECs due to public-health interventions (R_e < 1), also reflected in the replacement of SECs by a new variant over the summer of 2020. In summary, we reveal a notable difference in the initial genetic makeup of SARS-CoV-2 in Spain compared with other European countries and show evidence to support the effectiveness of lockdown measures in controlling virus spread, even for the most successful genetic variants.

SUBMITTER: Lopez MG

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8481935 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The first wave of the COVID-19 epidemic in Spain was associated with early introductions and fast spread of a dominating genetic variant.

López Mariana G MG Chiner-Oms Álvaro Á García de Viedma Darío D Ruiz-Rodriguez Paula P Bracho Maria Alma MA Cancino-Muñoz Irving I D'Auria Giuseppe G de Marco Griselda G García-González Neris N Goig Galo Adrian GA Gómez-Navarro Inmaculada I Jiménez-Serrano Santiago S Martinez-Priego Llúcia L Ruiz-Hueso Paula P Ruiz-Roldán Lidia L Torres-Puente Manuela M Alberola Juan J Albert Eliseo E Aranzamendi Zaldumbide Maitane M Bea-Escudero María Pilar MP Boga Jose Antonio JA Bordoy Antoni E AE Canut-Blasco Andrés A Carvajal Ana A Cilla Eguiluz Gustavo G Cordón Rodríguez Maria Luz ML Costa-Alcalde José J JJ de Toro María M de Toro Peinado Inmaculada I Del Pozo Jose Luis JL Duchêne Sebastián S Fernández-Pinero Jovita J Fuster Escrivá Begoña B Gimeno Cardona Concepción C González Galán Verónica V Gonzalo Jiménez Nieves N Hernáez Crespo Silvia S Herranz Marta M Lepe José Antonio JA López-Causapé Carla C López-Hontangas José Luis JL Martín Vicente V Martró Elisa E Milagro Beamonte Ana A Montes Ros Milagrosa M Moreno-Muñoz Rosario R Navarro David D Navarro-Marí José María JM Not Anna A Oliver Antonio A Palop-Borrás Begoña B Parra Grande Mónica M Pedrosa-Corral Irene I Pérez González Maria Carmen MC Pérez-Lago Laura L Pérez-Ruiz Mercedes M Piñeiro Vázquez Luis L Rabella Nuria N Rezusta Antonio A Robles Fonseca Lorena L Rodríguez-Villodres Ángel Á Sanbonmatsu-Gámez Sara S Sicilia Jon J Soriano Alex A Tirado Balaguer María Dolores MD Torres Ignacio I Tristancho Alexander A Marimón José María JM Coscolla Mireia M González-Candelas Fernando F Comas Iñaki I

Nature genetics 20210930 10

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected the world radically since 2020. Spain was one of the European countries with the highest incidence during the first wave. As a part of a consortium to monitor and study the evolution of the epidemic, we sequenced 2,170 samples, diagnosed mostly before lockdown measures. Here, we identified at least 500 introductions from multiple international sources and documented the early rise of two dominant Spanish epidemic clades (SECs), probab ...[more]

PMID: 34594042

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Project description:BackgroundThe initial wave of the COVID-19 pandemic placed a tremendous strain on health care systems worldwide. To mitigate the spread of the virus, many countries implemented stringent nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs), which significantly altered human behavior both before and after their enactment. Despite these efforts, a precise assessment of the impact and efficacy of these NPIs, as well as the extent of human behavioral changes, remained elusive.ObjectiveIn this study, we conducted a retrospective analysis of the initial wave of COVID-19 in Spain to better comprehend the influence of NPIs and their interaction with human behavior. Such investigations are vital for devising future mitigation strategies to combat COVID-19 and enhance epidemic preparedness more broadly.MethodsWe used a combination of national and regional retrospective analyses of pandemic incidence alongside large-scale mobility data to assess the impact and timing of government-implemented NPIs in combating COVID-19. Additionally, we compared these findings with a model-based inference of hospitalizations and fatalities. This model-based approach enabled us to construct counterfactual scenarios that gauged the consequences of delayed initiation of epidemic response measures.ResultsOur analysis demonstrated that the pre-national lockdown epidemic response, encompassing regional measures and heightened individual awareness, significantly contributed to reducing the disease burden in Spain. The mobility data indicated that people adjusted their behavior in response to the regional epidemiological situation before the nationwide lockdown was implemented. Counterfactual scenarios suggested that without this early epidemic response, there would have been an estimated 45,400 (95% CI 37,400-58,000) fatalities and 182,600 (95% CI 150,400-233,800) hospitalizations compared to the reported figures of 27,800 fatalities and 107,600 hospitalizations, respectively.ConclusionsOur findings underscore the significance of self-implemented prevention measures by the population and regional NPIs before the national lockdown in Spain. The study also emphasizes the necessity for prompt and precise data quantification prior to enacting enforced measures. This highlights the critical interplay between NPIs, epidemic progression, and human behavior. This interdependence presents a challenge in predicting the impact of NPIs before they are implemented.

Dataset Information

The first wave of the COVID-19 epidemic in Spain was associated with early introductions and fast spread of a dominating genetic variant.

Publications

The first wave of the COVID-19 epidemic in Spain was associated with early introductions and fast spread of a dominating genetic variant.

Similar Datasets

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