Phylogeographic and genetic network assessment of COVID-19 mitigation protocols on SARS-CoV-2 transmission in university campus residencesResearch in context

Summary: Background: Congregate living provides an ideal setting for SARS-CoV-2 transmission in which many outbreaks and superspreading events occurred. To avoid large outbreaks, universities turned to remote operations during the initial COVID-19 pandemic waves in 2020 and 2021. In late-2021, the...

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Main Authors: Joel O. Wertheim, Tetyana I. Vasylyeva, Robert J. Wood, Kalen Cantrell, Soraya Piña Contreras, Aryeh Feldheim, Ravi Goyal, Jennifer L. Havens, Rob Knight, Louise C. Laurent, Niema Moshiri, Robert Neuhard, Shashank Sathe, Alysson Satterlund, Angela Scioscia, Angela Y. Song, Robert T. Schooley, Cheryl M. Anderson, Natasha K. Martin, Stefan Aigner, Kristian G. Andersen, Nathan A. Baer, Maryann Betty, Amanda Birmingham, Anelizze Castro-Martinez, Willi Cheung, Peter De Hoff, Kathleen M. Fisch, Alison J. King, Karthik Gangavarapu, Abbas Hakim, Benjamin Henson, Kristen Jepsen, Christina H. Mac, Toan T. Ngo, Kelly N. Nguyen, Tyler R. Ostrander, Sarah Perkins, Ashley Plascencia, Andrea Rivera, Ariana Rivera, Rodolfo A. Salido, Kieran C. Saucedo, Madison Schwab, Allison L. Steedman, Anthony Veder, Alana Weiss, Gene W. Yeo, Mark Zeller
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-06-01
Series:EBioMedicine
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352396425001732
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author Joel O. Wertheim
Tetyana I. Vasylyeva
Robert J. Wood
Kalen Cantrell
Soraya Piña Contreras
Aryeh Feldheim
Ravi Goyal
Jennifer L. Havens
Rob Knight
Louise C. Laurent
Niema Moshiri
Robert Neuhard
Shashank Sathe
Alysson Satterlund
Angela Scioscia
Angela Y. Song
Robert T. Schooley
Cheryl M. Anderson
Natasha K. Martin
Stefan Aigner
Kristian G. Andersen
Nathan A. Baer
Maryann Betty
Amanda Birmingham
Anelizze Castro-Martinez
Willi Cheung
Peter De Hoff
Kathleen M. Fisch
Alison J. King
Karthik Gangavarapu
Abbas Hakim
Benjamin Henson
Kristen Jepsen
Christina H. Mac
Toan T. Ngo
Kelly N. Nguyen
Tyler R. Ostrander
Sarah Perkins
Ashley Plascencia
Andrea Rivera
Ariana Rivera
Rodolfo A. Salido
Kieran C. Saucedo
Madison Schwab
Allison L. Steedman
Anthony Veder
Alana Weiss
Gene W. Yeo
Mark Zeller
author_facet Joel O. Wertheim
Tetyana I. Vasylyeva
Robert J. Wood
Kalen Cantrell
Soraya Piña Contreras
Aryeh Feldheim
Ravi Goyal
Jennifer L. Havens
Rob Knight
Louise C. Laurent
Niema Moshiri
Robert Neuhard
Shashank Sathe
Alysson Satterlund
Angela Scioscia
Angela Y. Song
Robert T. Schooley
Cheryl M. Anderson
Natasha K. Martin
Stefan Aigner
Kristian G. Andersen
Nathan A. Baer
Maryann Betty
Amanda Birmingham
Anelizze Castro-Martinez
Willi Cheung
Peter De Hoff
Kathleen M. Fisch
Alison J. King
Karthik Gangavarapu
Abbas Hakim
Benjamin Henson
Kristen Jepsen
Christina H. Mac
Toan T. Ngo
Kelly N. Nguyen
Tyler R. Ostrander
Sarah Perkins
Ashley Plascencia
Andrea Rivera
Ariana Rivera
Rodolfo A. Salido
Kieran C. Saucedo
Madison Schwab
Allison L. Steedman
Anthony Veder
Alana Weiss
Gene W. Yeo
Mark Zeller
author_sort Joel O. Wertheim
collection DOAJ
description Summary: Background: Congregate living provides an ideal setting for SARS-CoV-2 transmission in which many outbreaks and superspreading events occurred. To avoid large outbreaks, universities turned to remote operations during the initial COVID-19 pandemic waves in 2020 and 2021. In late-2021, the University of California San Diego (UC San Diego) facilitated the return of students to campus with comprehensive testing, vaccination, masking, wastewater surveillance, and isolation policies. Methods: We performed molecular epidemiological and phylogeographic analysis of 4418 SARS-CoV-2 genomes sampled from UC San Diego students during the Omicron waves between December 2021 and September 2022, representing 58% of students with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection. We overlaid these analyses across on-campus residential information to assess the spread and persistence of SARS-CoV-2 within university residences. Findings: Within campus residences, SARS-CoV-2 transmission was frequent among students residing in the same room or suite. However, a quarter of pairs of suitemates with concurrent infections had distantly related viruses, suggesting separate sources of infection during periods of high incidence in the surrounding community. Students with concurrent infections residing in the same building were not at substantial increased probability of being members of the same transmission cluster. Genetic network and phylogeographic inference indicated that only between 3.1 and 12.4% of infections among students could be associated with transmission within buildings outside of individual suites. The only super-spreading event we detected was related to a large event outside campus residences. Interpretation: We found little evidence for sustained SARS-CoV-2 transmission within individual buildings, aside from students who resided in the same suite. Even in the face of heightened community transmission during the 2021–2022 Omicron waves, congregate living did not result in a heightened risk for SARS-CoV-2 transmission in the context of the multi-pronged mitigation strategy. Funding: SEARCH Alliance: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) BAA (75D301-22-R-72097) and the Google Cloud Platform Research Credits Program. J.O.W.: NIH–NIAID (R01 AI135992). T.I.V.: Branco Weiss Fellowship and Newkirk Fellowship. L.L.: University of California San Diego.
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spelling doaj-art-644046116f234a73a63a1d2b2fc3bc362025-08-20T03:09:37ZengElsevierEBioMedicine2352-39642025-06-0111610572910.1016/j.ebiom.2025.105729Phylogeographic and genetic network assessment of COVID-19 mitigation protocols on SARS-CoV-2 transmission in university campus residencesResearch in contextJoel O. Wertheim0Tetyana I. Vasylyeva1Robert J. Wood2Kalen Cantrell3Soraya Piña Contreras4Aryeh Feldheim5Ravi Goyal6Jennifer L. Havens7Rob Knight8Louise C. Laurent9Niema Moshiri10Robert Neuhard11Shashank Sathe12Alysson Satterlund13Angela Scioscia14Angela Y. Song15Robert T. Schooley16Cheryl M. Anderson17Natasha K. Martin18Stefan AignerKristian G. AndersenNathan A. BaerMaryann BettyAmanda BirminghamAnelizze Castro-MartinezWilli CheungPeter De HoffKathleen M. FischAlison J. KingKarthik GangavarapuAbbas HakimBenjamin HensonKristen JepsenChristina H. MacToan T. NgoKelly N. NguyenTyler R. OstranderSarah PerkinsAshley PlascenciaAndrea RiveraAriana RiveraRodolfo A. SalidoKieran C. SaucedoMadison SchwabAllison L. SteedmanAnthony VederAlana WeissGene W. YeoMark ZellerDepartment of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA; Corresponding author.Department of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA; Department of Population Health and Disease Prevention, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USAHerbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USADepartment of Computer Science & Engineering, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USAHerbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USAHerbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USADepartment of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USABioinformatics and Systems Biology Graduate Program, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USADepartment of Pediatrics, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA; Department of Bioengineering, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA; Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA; Center for Microbiome Innovation, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA; Halıcıoğlu Data Science Institute, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USASanford Consortium of Regenerative Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA; University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USADepartment of Computer Science & Engineering, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USAUniversity of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USASanford Consortium of Regenerative Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA; University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USAUniversity of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USADepartment of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USAUniversity of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USADepartment of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USAHerbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USADepartment of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USASummary: Background: Congregate living provides an ideal setting for SARS-CoV-2 transmission in which many outbreaks and superspreading events occurred. To avoid large outbreaks, universities turned to remote operations during the initial COVID-19 pandemic waves in 2020 and 2021. In late-2021, the University of California San Diego (UC San Diego) facilitated the return of students to campus with comprehensive testing, vaccination, masking, wastewater surveillance, and isolation policies. Methods: We performed molecular epidemiological and phylogeographic analysis of 4418 SARS-CoV-2 genomes sampled from UC San Diego students during the Omicron waves between December 2021 and September 2022, representing 58% of students with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection. We overlaid these analyses across on-campus residential information to assess the spread and persistence of SARS-CoV-2 within university residences. Findings: Within campus residences, SARS-CoV-2 transmission was frequent among students residing in the same room or suite. However, a quarter of pairs of suitemates with concurrent infections had distantly related viruses, suggesting separate sources of infection during periods of high incidence in the surrounding community. Students with concurrent infections residing in the same building were not at substantial increased probability of being members of the same transmission cluster. Genetic network and phylogeographic inference indicated that only between 3.1 and 12.4% of infections among students could be associated with transmission within buildings outside of individual suites. The only super-spreading event we detected was related to a large event outside campus residences. Interpretation: We found little evidence for sustained SARS-CoV-2 transmission within individual buildings, aside from students who resided in the same suite. Even in the face of heightened community transmission during the 2021–2022 Omicron waves, congregate living did not result in a heightened risk for SARS-CoV-2 transmission in the context of the multi-pronged mitigation strategy. Funding: SEARCH Alliance: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) BAA (75D301-22-R-72097) and the Google Cloud Platform Research Credits Program. J.O.W.: NIH–NIAID (R01 AI135992). T.I.V.: Branco Weiss Fellowship and Newkirk Fellowship. L.L.: University of California San Diego.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352396425001732SARS-CoV-2UniversityPhylogeographyTransmission clusterMitigation
spellingShingle Joel O. Wertheim
Tetyana I. Vasylyeva
Robert J. Wood
Kalen Cantrell
Soraya Piña Contreras
Aryeh Feldheim
Ravi Goyal
Jennifer L. Havens
Rob Knight
Louise C. Laurent
Niema Moshiri
Robert Neuhard
Shashank Sathe
Alysson Satterlund
Angela Scioscia
Angela Y. Song
Robert T. Schooley
Cheryl M. Anderson
Natasha K. Martin
Stefan Aigner
Kristian G. Andersen
Nathan A. Baer
Maryann Betty
Amanda Birmingham
Anelizze Castro-Martinez
Willi Cheung
Peter De Hoff
Kathleen M. Fisch
Alison J. King
Karthik Gangavarapu
Abbas Hakim
Benjamin Henson
Kristen Jepsen
Christina H. Mac
Toan T. Ngo
Kelly N. Nguyen
Tyler R. Ostrander
Sarah Perkins
Ashley Plascencia
Andrea Rivera
Ariana Rivera
Rodolfo A. Salido
Kieran C. Saucedo
Madison Schwab
Allison L. Steedman
Anthony Veder
Alana Weiss
Gene W. Yeo
Mark Zeller
Phylogeographic and genetic network assessment of COVID-19 mitigation protocols on SARS-CoV-2 transmission in university campus residencesResearch in context
EBioMedicine
SARS-CoV-2
University
Phylogeography
Transmission cluster
Mitigation
title Phylogeographic and genetic network assessment of COVID-19 mitigation protocols on SARS-CoV-2 transmission in university campus residencesResearch in context
title_full Phylogeographic and genetic network assessment of COVID-19 mitigation protocols on SARS-CoV-2 transmission in university campus residencesResearch in context
title_fullStr Phylogeographic and genetic network assessment of COVID-19 mitigation protocols on SARS-CoV-2 transmission in university campus residencesResearch in context
title_full_unstemmed Phylogeographic and genetic network assessment of COVID-19 mitigation protocols on SARS-CoV-2 transmission in university campus residencesResearch in context
title_short Phylogeographic and genetic network assessment of COVID-19 mitigation protocols on SARS-CoV-2 transmission in university campus residencesResearch in context
title_sort phylogeographic and genetic network assessment of covid 19 mitigation protocols on sars cov 2 transmission in university campus residencesresearch in context
topic SARS-CoV-2
University
Phylogeography
Transmission cluster
Mitigation
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352396425001732
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