Linked transmission chains of imported SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.351 across mainland France, January 2021

Clémentine Calba (1) , Aurélien Zhu-Soubise (1) , Sarah Mahdjoub-Assaad (1) , Berenice Villegas-Ramirez (1) , Arnaud Tarantola (1) , Delphine Barataud (1) , Lisa King (1) , Esra Morvan (1) , Anne Guinard (1) , Olivier Catelinois (1) , Damien Mouly (1) , Guillaume Spaccaferri (1) , Alexandra Mailles (1) , Sibylle Bernard-Stoecklin (1) , Muriel Beliah-Nappez (2) , Aurélie Misme (2) , Diane Descamps (3, 4) , Amine Si Ali (5, 6) , Valérie Garrait (7) , Mounira Smati-Lafarge (6) , Marilyne Gojon (8) , Lucile Trutt (9) , Blandine De Kerros (8) , Josselin Vincent (8) , Colin Deschanvres (10) , Simon Ribes (10) , Florence Daubresse (11) , Olivier Glass (11) , Valérie Lebaillif (11) , Karine Vilhes (11) , Jacques Izopet (12, 13) , Sylvie van Der Werf (14, 15) , Sylvie Behillil (14, 15) , Etienne Simon-Lorière (16) , Vincent Enouf (14, 17, 18)

1 Santé publique France - French National Public Health Agency [Saint-Maurice, France]
2 ARS IDF - Agence Régionale de Santé Ile-de-France [Paris]
3 IAME (UMR_S_1137 / U1137) - Infection, Anti-microbiens, Modélisation, Evolution
4 AP-HP - Hôpital Bichat - Claude Bernard [Paris]
5 PCI - Prévention et contrôle des infections
6 CHIC - Centre Hospitalier Intercommunal de Créteil
7 Hôpital Lariboisière-Fernand-Widal [APHP]
8 Agence régionale de Santé Pays de la Loire [Nantes]
9 Nantes Univ - UFR MEDECINE - Nantes Université - UFR de Médecine et des Techniques Médicales
10 CHU Nantes - Centre hospitalier universitaire de Nantes
11 ARS Occitanie - Agence Régionale de Santé Occitanie
12 Laboratoire Virologie [CHU Toulouse]
13 Institut Fédératif de Biologie (IFB)
14 GMV-ARN (UMR_3569 / U-Pasteur_2) - Génétique Moléculaire des Virus à ARN - Molecular Genetics of RNA Viruses
15 CNR - laboratoire coordonnateur - Centre National de Référence des virus des infections respiratoires (dont la grippe) - National Reference Center Virus Influenzae [Paris]
16 Génomique évolutive des virus à ARN - Evolutionary genomics of RNA viruses
17 PIBNet - Pasteur International Bioresources network
18 P2M - Plateforme de Microbiologie Mutualisée (PIBnet) - Mutualized Platform for Microbiology

Two cases of confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection with the B.1.351 variant were reported in France in mid-January, 2020. These cases attended a gathering in Mozambique in mid-December 2020. Investigations led to the identification of five imported cases responsible for 14 transmission chains and a total 36 cases. Epidemiological characteristics seemed comparable to those described before the emergence of the South African variant B.1.351. The lack of tertiary transmission outside of the personal sphere suggests that distancing and barrier measures were effective.

Keywords: COVID-19; Cluster; Epidemiology; Incubation; SARS-CoV-2 variants 20H/501Y.V2

Domains: Life Sciences [q-bio]

Clémentine Calba, Aurélien Zhu-Soubise, Sarah Mahdjoub-Assaad, Berenice Villegas-Ramirez, Arnaud Tarantola, et al.. Linked transmission chains of imported SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.351 across mainland France, January 2021. Eurosurveillance, 2021, 26 (13), pp.2100333. ⟨10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2021.26.13.2100333⟩. ⟨pasteur-04098205⟩