Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports

Linked transmission chains of imported SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.351 across mainland France, January 2021

SARS-CoV-2 variant with lineage B.1.351 clusters investigation team et al. Euro Surveill. 2021 Apr.

Abstract

Two cases of confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection with the B.1.351 variant were reported in France in mid-January, 2020. These cases attended a gathering in Mozambique in mid-December 2020. Investigations led to the identification of five imported cases responsible for 14 transmission chains and a total 36 cases. Epidemiological characteristics seemed comparable to those described before the emergence of the South African variant B.1.351. The lack of tertiary transmission outside of the personal sphere suggests that distancing and barrier measures were effective.

Keywords: COVID-19; Cluster; Epidemiology; Incubation; SARS-CoV-2 variants 20H/501Y.V2.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: SVDW is board member of ISIRV; patent issued on SARS-CoV and patent pending on SARS-CoV-2 diagnostics. Other authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
French regions where the clusters and transmission chains were investigated, imported SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.351, France, January 2021 (n = 36 cases)
Figure 2
Figure 2
Schematic representation of clusters and chains of transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 B.1.351 variant, France, December 2020–January 2021 (n = 36 cases, 12 at-risk contacts)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. O’Toole A, Scher E, Underwood A, Jackson B, Hill V, McCrone JT, et al. Pangolin: lineage assignment in an emerging pandemic as an epidemiological tool. github. [Accessed: 30 Mar2021]. Available from: https://cov-lineages.org/global_report_B.1.351.html - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bedford T, Hodcroft EB, Neher RA. Updated Nextstrain SARS-CoV-2 clade naming strategy. Nextstrain. [Accessed: 29 Mar 2021]. Available from: https://nextstrain.org/blog/2021-01-06-updated-SARS-CoV-2-clade-naming
    1. Tegally H, Wilkinson E, Giovanetti M, Iranzadeh A, Fonseca V, Giandhari J, et al. Emergence and rapid spread of a new severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) lineage with multiple spike mutations in South Africa. medRxiv 2020.12.21.20248640. https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.12.21.20248640 - DOI
    1. Greaney AJ, Loes AN, Crawford KHD, Starr TN, Malone KD, Chu HY, et al. Comprehensive mapping of mutations to the SARS-CoV-2 receptor-binding domain that affect recognition by polyclonal human serum antibodies. bioRxiv 2020.12.31.425021. 10.1101/2020.12.31.425021 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Vasques Nonaka CK, Miranda Franco M, Gräf T, Almeida Mendes AV, Santana de Aguiar R, Giovanetti M, et al. Genomic evidence of a Sars-Cov-2 reinfection case with E484K spike mutation in Brazil. Preprints. 2021;2021010132. 10.20944/preprints202101.0132.v1 - DOI

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources