Abstract
We reviewed all genomic epidemiology studies on COVID-19 in long-term care facilities (LTCFs) that had been published to date. We found that staff and residents were usually infected with identical, or near identical, SARS-CoV-2 genomes. Outbreaks usually involved one predominant cluster, and the same lineages persisted in LTCFs despite infection control measures. Outbreaks were most commonly due to single or few introductions followed by a spread rather than a series of seeding events from the community into LTCFs. The sequencing of samples taken consecutively from the same individuals at the same facilities showed the persistence of the same genome sequence, indicating that the sequencing technique was robust over time. When combined with local epidemiology, genomics allowed probable transmission sources to be better characterised. The transmission between LTCFs was detected in multiple studies. The mortality rate among residents was high in all facilities, regardless of the lineage. Bioinformatics methods were inadequate in a third of the studies reviewed, and reproducing the analyses was difficult because sequencing data were not available in many facilities.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | e151-e158 |
| Journal | The Lancet Microbe |
| Volume | 3 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| Early online date | 29 Sept 2021 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Feb 2022 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information: DA is a Clinical PhD Fellow and gratefully supported by the Wellcome Trust (grant number 222903/Z/21/Z). AJP and JO'G gratefully acknowledge the support of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC); their research was funded by the BBSRC Institute Strategic Programme Microbes in the Food Chain (project number BB/R012504/1) and its constituent project (project number BBS/E/F/000PR10352), and also the Quadram Institute Bioscience BBSRC-funded Core Capability grant (project number BB/CCG1860/1). SR, DLS, and MB gratefully acknowledge support from Research England's Expanding Excellence in England Fund. IG is a Wellcome Senior Fellow and supported by the Wellcome Trust (grant number 207498/Z/17/Z). MET was supported by a Clinician Scientist Fellowship (funded by the Academy of Medical Sciences and the Health Foundation) and by the National institutes of Health Research Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre. The COVID-19 Genomics UK Consortium is supported by funding from the Medical Research Council part of UK Research & Innovation and the National Institute of Health Research and Genome Research, operating as the Wellcome Sanger Institute. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Open Access: This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 license.
Publisher Copyright: Crown Copyright © 2021 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Citation: Aggarwal, Dinesh, et al. "The role of viral genomics in understanding COVID-19 outbreaks in long-term care facilities." The Lancet Microbe (2021).
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2666-5247(21)00208-1
