Virological evidence of the impact of non-pharmaceutical interventions against COVID-19 in Ecuador, a resource-limited setting
Ecuador had substantial COVID-19-mortality during 2020 despite early implementation of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs). Resource-limited settings like Ecuador have high proportions of informal labour which entail high human mobility, questioning efficacy of NPIs. We performed a retrospective...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Emerging Microbes and Infections |
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| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/22221751.2023.2259001 |
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| author | Andres Moreira-Soto Alfredo Bruno Doménica de Mora Michelle Paez Jimmy Garces Ben Wulf Anna-Lena Sander Maritza Olmedo Maria José Basantes Mantilla Manuel Gonzalez Gonzalez Solon Alberto Orlando Silvia Salgado Cisneros Juan Carlos Zevallos Jan Felix Drexler |
| author_facet | Andres Moreira-Soto Alfredo Bruno Doménica de Mora Michelle Paez Jimmy Garces Ben Wulf Anna-Lena Sander Maritza Olmedo Maria José Basantes Mantilla Manuel Gonzalez Gonzalez Solon Alberto Orlando Silvia Salgado Cisneros Juan Carlos Zevallos Jan Felix Drexler |
| author_sort | Andres Moreira-Soto |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Ecuador had substantial COVID-19-mortality during 2020 despite early implementation of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs). Resource-limited settings like Ecuador have high proportions of informal labour which entail high human mobility, questioning efficacy of NPIs. We performed a retrospective observational study in Ecuador’s national reference laboratory for viral respiratory infections during March 2020–February 2021 using stored respiratory specimens from 1950 patients, corresponding to 2.3% of all samples analysed within the Ecuadorian national surveillance system per week. During 2020, detection of SARS-CoV-2 (Pearson correlation; r = −0.74; p = 0.01) and other respiratory viruses (Pearson correlation; r = −0.68; p = 0.02) by real-time RT–PCR correlated negatively with NPIs stringency. Among respiratory viruses, adenoviruses (Fisher’s exact-test; p = 0.026), parainfluenzaviruses (p = 0.04), enteroviruses (p < 0.0001) and metapneumoviruses (p < 0.0001) occurred significantly more frequently during months of absent or non-stringent NPIs (characterized by <55% stringency according to the Oxford stringency index data for Ecuador). Phylogenomic analyses of 632 newly characterized SARS-CoV-2 genomes revealed 100 near-parallel SARS-CoV-2 introductions during early 2020 in the absence of NPIs. NPI stringency correlated negatively with the number of circulating SARS-CoV-2 lineages during 2020 (r = −0.69; p = 0.02). Phylogeographic reconstructions showed differential SARS-CoV-2 dispersion patterns during 2020, with more short-distance transitions potentially associated with recreational activity during non-stringent NPIs. There were also fewer geographic transitions during strict NPIs (n = 450) than during non-stringent or absent NPIs (n = 580). Virological evidence supports that NPIs had an effect on virus spread and distribution in Ecuador, providing a template for future epidemics in resource-limited settings and contributing to a balanced assessment of societal costs entailed by strict NPIs. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-11f63d06badd4dce8b0c0b149602df54 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2222-1751 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Emerging Microbes and Infections |
| spelling | doaj-art-11f63d06badd4dce8b0c0b149602df542025-08-20T02:37:33ZengTaylor & Francis GroupEmerging Microbes and Infections2222-17512023-12-0112210.1080/22221751.2023.2259001Virological evidence of the impact of non-pharmaceutical interventions against COVID-19 in Ecuador, a resource-limited settingAndres Moreira-Soto0Alfredo Bruno1Doménica de Mora2Michelle Paez3Jimmy Garces4Ben Wulf5Anna-Lena Sander6Maritza Olmedo7Maria José Basantes Mantilla8Manuel Gonzalez Gonzalez9Solon Alberto Orlando10Silvia Salgado Cisneros11Juan Carlos Zevallos12Jan Felix Drexler13Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Institute of Virology, Berlin, GermanyNational Institute of Public Health Research (INSPI), Guayaquil, EcuadorNational Institute of Public Health Research (INSPI), Guayaquil, EcuadorNational Institute of Public Health Research (INSPI), Guayaquil, EcuadorNational Institute of Public Health Research (INSPI), Guayaquil, EcuadorCharité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Institute of Virology, Berlin, GermanyCharité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Institute of Virology, Berlin, GermanyNational Institute of Public Health Research (INSPI), Guayaquil, EcuadorNational Institute of Public Health Research (INSPI), Guayaquil, EcuadorNational Institute of Public Health Research (INSPI), Guayaquil, EcuadorNational Institute of Public Health Research (INSPI), Guayaquil, EcuadorNational Institute of Public Health Research (INSPI), Guayaquil, EcuadorHealth Science Faculty, Universidad Espíritu Santo, Guayaquil, EcuadorCharité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Institute of Virology, Berlin, GermanyEcuador had substantial COVID-19-mortality during 2020 despite early implementation of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs). Resource-limited settings like Ecuador have high proportions of informal labour which entail high human mobility, questioning efficacy of NPIs. We performed a retrospective observational study in Ecuador’s national reference laboratory for viral respiratory infections during March 2020–February 2021 using stored respiratory specimens from 1950 patients, corresponding to 2.3% of all samples analysed within the Ecuadorian national surveillance system per week. During 2020, detection of SARS-CoV-2 (Pearson correlation; r = −0.74; p = 0.01) and other respiratory viruses (Pearson correlation; r = −0.68; p = 0.02) by real-time RT–PCR correlated negatively with NPIs stringency. Among respiratory viruses, adenoviruses (Fisher’s exact-test; p = 0.026), parainfluenzaviruses (p = 0.04), enteroviruses (p < 0.0001) and metapneumoviruses (p < 0.0001) occurred significantly more frequently during months of absent or non-stringent NPIs (characterized by <55% stringency according to the Oxford stringency index data for Ecuador). Phylogenomic analyses of 632 newly characterized SARS-CoV-2 genomes revealed 100 near-parallel SARS-CoV-2 introductions during early 2020 in the absence of NPIs. NPI stringency correlated negatively with the number of circulating SARS-CoV-2 lineages during 2020 (r = −0.69; p = 0.02). Phylogeographic reconstructions showed differential SARS-CoV-2 dispersion patterns during 2020, with more short-distance transitions potentially associated with recreational activity during non-stringent NPIs. There were also fewer geographic transitions during strict NPIs (n = 450) than during non-stringent or absent NPIs (n = 580). Virological evidence supports that NPIs had an effect on virus spread and distribution in Ecuador, providing a template for future epidemics in resource-limited settings and contributing to a balanced assessment of societal costs entailed by strict NPIs.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/22221751.2023.2259001Non-pharmaceutical interventionsEcuadorCOVID-19SARS-CoV-2public healthrespiratory infections |
| spellingShingle | Andres Moreira-Soto Alfredo Bruno Doménica de Mora Michelle Paez Jimmy Garces Ben Wulf Anna-Lena Sander Maritza Olmedo Maria José Basantes Mantilla Manuel Gonzalez Gonzalez Solon Alberto Orlando Silvia Salgado Cisneros Juan Carlos Zevallos Jan Felix Drexler Virological evidence of the impact of non-pharmaceutical interventions against COVID-19 in Ecuador, a resource-limited setting Emerging Microbes and Infections Non-pharmaceutical interventions Ecuador COVID-19 SARS-CoV-2 public health respiratory infections |
| title | Virological evidence of the impact of non-pharmaceutical interventions against COVID-19 in Ecuador, a resource-limited setting |
| title_full | Virological evidence of the impact of non-pharmaceutical interventions against COVID-19 in Ecuador, a resource-limited setting |
| title_fullStr | Virological evidence of the impact of non-pharmaceutical interventions against COVID-19 in Ecuador, a resource-limited setting |
| title_full_unstemmed | Virological evidence of the impact of non-pharmaceutical interventions against COVID-19 in Ecuador, a resource-limited setting |
| title_short | Virological evidence of the impact of non-pharmaceutical interventions against COVID-19 in Ecuador, a resource-limited setting |
| title_sort | virological evidence of the impact of non pharmaceutical interventions against covid 19 in ecuador a resource limited setting |
| topic | Non-pharmaceutical interventions Ecuador COVID-19 SARS-CoV-2 public health respiratory infections |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/22221751.2023.2259001 |
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