Serial interval of COVID-19 and the effect of Variant B.1.1.7: analyses from prospective community cohort study (Virus Watch) [version 1; peer review: 2 approved]

Introduction: Increased transmissibility of B.1.1.7 variant of concern (VOC) in the UK may explain its rapid emergence and global spread. We analysed data from putative household infector - infectee pairs in the Virus Watch Community cohort study to assess the serial interval of COVID-19 and whether...

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Autores principales: Cyril Geismar, Ellen Fragaszy, Vincent Nguyen, Wing Lam Erica Fong, Madhumita Shrotri, Sarah Beale, Alison Rodger, Vasileios Lampos, Thomas Byrne, Jana Kovar, Annalan M D Navaratnam, Parth Patel, Robert W Aldridge, Andrew Hayward, on behalf of Virus Watch Collaborative
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Publicado: Wellcome 2021
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spelling oai:doaj.org-article:0a2e552ca34540329fd0b631421032872021-11-08T10:54:12ZSerial interval of COVID-19 and the effect of Variant B.1.1.7: analyses from prospective community cohort study (Virus Watch) [version 1; peer review: 2 approved]2398-502X10.12688/wellcomeopenres.16974.1https://doaj.org/article/0a2e552ca34540329fd0b631421032872021-09-01T00:00:00Zhttps://wellcomeopenresearch.org/articles/6-224/v1https://doaj.org/toc/2398-502XIntroduction: Increased transmissibility of B.1.1.7 variant of concern (VOC) in the UK may explain its rapid emergence and global spread. We analysed data from putative household infector - infectee pairs in the Virus Watch Community cohort study to assess the serial interval of COVID-19 and whether this was affected by emergence of the B.1.1.7 variant. Methods: The Virus Watch study is an online, prospective, community cohort study following up entire households in England and Wales during the COVID-19 pandemic. Putative household infector-infectee pairs were identified where more than one person in the household had a positive swab matched to an illness episode. Data on whether or not individual infections were caused by the B.1.1.7 variant were not available. We therefore developed a classification system based on the percentage of cases estimated to be due to B.1.1.7 in national surveillance data for different English regions and study weeks. Results: Out of 24,887 illnesses reported, 915 tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 and 186 likely ‘infector-infectee’ pairs in 186 households amongst 372 individuals were identified. The mean COVID-19 serial interval was 3.18 (95%CI: 2.55 - 3.81) days. There was no significant difference (p=0.267) between the mean serial interval for VOC hotspots (mean = 3.64 days, (95%CI: 2.55 – 4.73)) days and non-VOC hotspots, (mean = 2.72 days, (95%CI: 1.48 – 3.96)). Conclusions: Our estimates of the average serial interval of COVID-19 are broadly similar to estimates from previous studies and we find no evidence that B.1.1.7 is associated with a change in serial intervals.  Alternative explanations such as increased viral load, longer period of viral shedding or improved receptor binding may instead explain the increased transmissibility and rapid spread and should undergo further investigation.Cyril GeismarEllen FragaszyVincent NguyenWing Lam Erica FongMadhumita ShrotriSarah BealeAlison RodgerVasileios LamposThomas ByrneJana KovarAnnalan M D NavaratnamParth PatelRobert W AldridgeAndrew Haywardon behalf of Virus Watch CollaborativeWellcomearticleMedicineRScienceQENWellcome Open Research, Vol 6 (2021)
institution DOAJ
collection DOAJ
language EN
topic Medicine
R
Science
Q
spellingShingle Medicine
R
Science
Q
Cyril Geismar
Ellen Fragaszy
Vincent Nguyen
Wing Lam Erica Fong
Madhumita Shrotri
Sarah Beale
Alison Rodger
Vasileios Lampos
Thomas Byrne
Jana Kovar
Annalan M D Navaratnam
Parth Patel
Robert W Aldridge
Andrew Hayward
on behalf of Virus Watch Collaborative
Serial interval of COVID-19 and the effect of Variant B.1.1.7: analyses from prospective community cohort study (Virus Watch) [version 1; peer review: 2 approved]
description Introduction: Increased transmissibility of B.1.1.7 variant of concern (VOC) in the UK may explain its rapid emergence and global spread. We analysed data from putative household infector - infectee pairs in the Virus Watch Community cohort study to assess the serial interval of COVID-19 and whether this was affected by emergence of the B.1.1.7 variant. Methods: The Virus Watch study is an online, prospective, community cohort study following up entire households in England and Wales during the COVID-19 pandemic. Putative household infector-infectee pairs were identified where more than one person in the household had a positive swab matched to an illness episode. Data on whether or not individual infections were caused by the B.1.1.7 variant were not available. We therefore developed a classification system based on the percentage of cases estimated to be due to B.1.1.7 in national surveillance data for different English regions and study weeks. Results: Out of 24,887 illnesses reported, 915 tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 and 186 likely ‘infector-infectee’ pairs in 186 households amongst 372 individuals were identified. The mean COVID-19 serial interval was 3.18 (95%CI: 2.55 - 3.81) days. There was no significant difference (p=0.267) between the mean serial interval for VOC hotspots (mean = 3.64 days, (95%CI: 2.55 – 4.73)) days and non-VOC hotspots, (mean = 2.72 days, (95%CI: 1.48 – 3.96)). Conclusions: Our estimates of the average serial interval of COVID-19 are broadly similar to estimates from previous studies and we find no evidence that B.1.1.7 is associated with a change in serial intervals.  Alternative explanations such as increased viral load, longer period of viral shedding or improved receptor binding may instead explain the increased transmissibility and rapid spread and should undergo further investigation.
format article
author Cyril Geismar
Ellen Fragaszy
Vincent Nguyen
Wing Lam Erica Fong
Madhumita Shrotri
Sarah Beale
Alison Rodger
Vasileios Lampos
Thomas Byrne
Jana Kovar
Annalan M D Navaratnam
Parth Patel
Robert W Aldridge
Andrew Hayward
on behalf of Virus Watch Collaborative
author_facet Cyril Geismar
Ellen Fragaszy
Vincent Nguyen
Wing Lam Erica Fong
Madhumita Shrotri
Sarah Beale
Alison Rodger
Vasileios Lampos
Thomas Byrne
Jana Kovar
Annalan M D Navaratnam
Parth Patel
Robert W Aldridge
Andrew Hayward
on behalf of Virus Watch Collaborative
author_sort Cyril Geismar
title Serial interval of COVID-19 and the effect of Variant B.1.1.7: analyses from prospective community cohort study (Virus Watch) [version 1; peer review: 2 approved]
title_short Serial interval of COVID-19 and the effect of Variant B.1.1.7: analyses from prospective community cohort study (Virus Watch) [version 1; peer review: 2 approved]
title_full Serial interval of COVID-19 and the effect of Variant B.1.1.7: analyses from prospective community cohort study (Virus Watch) [version 1; peer review: 2 approved]
title_fullStr Serial interval of COVID-19 and the effect of Variant B.1.1.7: analyses from prospective community cohort study (Virus Watch) [version 1; peer review: 2 approved]
title_full_unstemmed Serial interval of COVID-19 and the effect of Variant B.1.1.7: analyses from prospective community cohort study (Virus Watch) [version 1; peer review: 2 approved]
title_sort serial interval of covid-19 and the effect of variant b.1.1.7: analyses from prospective community cohort study (virus watch) [version 1; peer review: 2 approved]
publisher Wellcome
publishDate 2021
url https://doaj.org/article/0a2e552ca34540329fd0b63142103287
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