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The Alpha variant was not associated with excess nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 infection in a multi-centre UK hospital study
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-10, 02:21 authored by Florencia A T Boshier, Cristina Venturini, Oliver Stirrup, José Afonso Guerra-Assunção, Adela Alcolea-Medina, Angela H Becket, Matthew Byott, Themoula Charalampous, Themoula Filipe, Dan Frampton, Sharon Glaysher, Tabassum Khan, Tabassum Kulasegara-Shylini, Beatrix Kele, Beatrix Price, othersObjectives Recently emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants have been associated with an increased rate of transmission within the community. We sought to determine whether this also resulted in increased transmission within hospitals. Methods We collected viral sequences and epidemiological data of patients with community and healthcare associated SARS-CoV-2 infections, sampled from 16th November 2020 to 10th January 2021, from nine hospitals participating in the COG-UK HOCI study. Outbreaks were identified using ward information, lineage and pairwise genetic differences between viral sequences. Results Mixed effects logistic regression analysis of 4184 sequences showed healthcare-acquired infections were no more likely to be identified as the Alpha variant than community acquired infections. Nosocomial outbreaks were investigated based on overlapping ward stay and SARS-CoV-2 genome sequence similarity. There was no significant difference in the number of patients involved in outbreaks caused by the Alpha variant compared to outbreaks caused by other lineages. Conclusions We find no evidence to support it causing more nosocomial transmission than previous lineages. This suggests that the stringent infection prevention measures already in place in UK hospitals contained the spread of the Alpha variant as effectively as other less transmissible lineages, providing reassurance of their efficacy against emerging variants of concern.
History
Publication status
- Published
File Version
- Published version
Journal
Journal of InfectionISSN
0163-4453Publisher
ElsevierExternal DOI
Issue
6Volume
83Page range
693-700Event location
EnglandDepartment affiliated with
- BSMS Publications
Full text available
- Yes
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2022-01-17First Open Access (FOA) Date
2022-01-17First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2022-01-17Usage metrics
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