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. 2020 Oct 20;10(1):17720.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-74666-w.

Multiple early introductions of SARS-CoV-2 into a global travel hub in the Middle East

Ahmad Abou Tayoun  1   2 , Tom Loney  2 , Hamda Khansaheb  3 , Sathishkumar Ramaswamy  1 , Divinlal Harilal  1 , Zulfa Omar Deesi  4 , Rupa Murthy Varghese  4 , Hanan Al Suwaidi  2 , Abdulmajeed Alkhajeh  3 , Laila Mohamed AlDabal  5 , Mohammed Uddin  2   6 , Rifat Hamoudi  7 , Rabih Halwani  7 , Abiola Senok  2 , Qutayba Hamid  8 , Norbert Nowotny  9   10 , Alawi Alsheikh-Ali  11
Affiliations

Multiple early introductions of SARS-CoV-2 into a global travel hub in the Middle East

Ahmad Abou Tayoun et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

International travel played a significant role in the early global spread of SARS-CoV-2. Understanding transmission patterns from different regions of the world will further inform global dynamics of the pandemic. Using data from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a major international travel hub in the Middle East, we establish SARS-CoV-2 full genome sequences from the index and early COVID-19 patients in the UAE. The genome sequences are analysed in the context of virus introductions, chain of transmissions, and possible links to earlier strains from other regions of the world. Phylogenetic analysis showed multiple spatiotemporal introductions of SARS-CoV-2 into the UAE from Asia, Europe, and the Middle East during the early phase of the pandemic. We also provide evidence for early community-based transmission and catalogue new mutations in SARS-CoV-2 strains in the UAE. Our findings contribute to the understanding of the global transmission network of SARS-CoV-2.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Phylogenetic relationships of SARS-CoV-2 isolates from early patients in Dubai and early global strains. A maximum likelihood phylogeny of 182 SARS-CoV-2 genomes (157 obtained from GISAID as of early March and 25 genomes in this study). Bootstrap values > 70% supporting major branches are shown. The 3 non-UAE isolates in clades A2a and A3 namely, Mexico/CDMX-InDRE_01, Germany/Baden/Wuerttemberg-1, and Australia/NSW05 are the GISAID ID: EPI_ISL_412972, GISAID ID: EPI_ISL_412912, and GISAID ID: EPI_ISL_412975, respectively, referred to in the main text. Scale bar represents number of nucleotide substitutions per site. UAE = United Arab Emirates.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Relationship of early SARS-CoV-2 isolates in the UAE based on phylogenetic analysis and patients’ travel history. A maximum likelihood phylogenetic tree of all 25 UAE SARS-CoV-2 sequences, generated in this study, is shown. The two Wuhan genomes (Wuhan-Hu-1/2019, GISAID ID: EPI_ISL_402125 and Wuhan/WH01/2019, GISAID ID: EPI_ISL_406798) were used as reference genomes (blue filled circles). UAE viral strains (black filled circles) were labelled with sample ID and nationality (in brackets). Bootstrap values > 70% supporting major branches are shown. Branch lengths mark divergence from the reference Wuhan SARS-CoV-2 genome (GenBank accession number: NC_045512.2) in mutations numbers, while branch colour represents travel history. Travel history to Europe for patients UAE/L1758, UAE/L0484, UAE/L2185, and UAE/L0881 is obscured by vertical lines. UAE = United Arab Emirates.
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References

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