Introductions and early spread of SARS-CoV-2 in France, 24 January to 23 March 2020

F. Gámbaro, S. Behillil, Artem Baidaliuk, F. Donati, M. Albert, Andreea Alexandru, Maud Vanpeene, M. Bizard, Angela Brisebarre, Marion Barbet, F. Derrar, S. van der Werf, V. Enouf, E. Simon-Lorière

Euro surveillance : bulletin Europeen sur les maladies transmissibles = European communicable disease bulletin, 2020

Following SARS-CoV-2 emergence in China, a specific surveillance was implemented in France. Phylogenetic analysis of sequences retrieved through this surveillance suggests that detected initial introductions, involving non-clade G viruses, did not seed local transmission. Nevertheless, identification of clade G variants subsequently circulating in the country, with the earliest from a patient who neither travelled to risk areas nor had contact with travellers, suggests that SARS-CoV-2 might have been present before the first recorded local cases.

Cited by 18 publications.

Field of study: Biology

10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2020.25.26.2001200