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Journal Article Epublish 1 citation

PubMed: 38257832 DOI: 10.3390/v16010132

Systematic Genomic Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 at Xiamen International Airport and the Port of Xiamen Reveals the Importance of Incoming Travelers in Lineage Diversity.

Viruses 16(1)

Authors: Ruiluan You, Ruotong Wu, Xijing Wang, Rao Fu, Ningshao Xia, Yixin Chen, Kunyu Yang, Junyu Chen

Affiliations

  • Xiamen International Travel Healthcare Center, Xiamen Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau, Xiamen 361001, China.
  • State Key Laboratory of Vaccines for Infectious Diseases, Xiang An Biomedicine Laboratory, Department of Laboratory Medicine, School of Public Health & School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, China.
  • State Key Laboratory of Vaccines for Infectious Diseases, Xiang An Biomedicine Laboratory, Department of Laboratory Medicine, School of Public Health & School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, China. National Institute of Diagnostics and Vaccine Development in Infectious Diseases, State Key Laboratory of Molecular Vaccinology and Molecular Diagnostics, Collaborative Innovation Center of Biologic Products, National Innovation Platform for Industry-Education Integration in Vaccine Research, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, China.
  • National Institute of Diagnostics and Vaccine Development in Infectious Diseases, State Key Laboratory of Molecular Vaccinology and Molecular Diagnostics, Collaborative Innovation Center of Biologic Products, National Innovation Platform for Industry-Education Integration in Vaccine Research, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, China.

Abstract

Sever Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is still a threat to human health globally despite the World Health Organization (WHO) announcing the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. Continued surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 at national borders would be helpful in understanding the epidemics of novel imported variants and updating local strategies for disease prevention and treatment. This study focuses on the surveillance of imported SARS-CoV-2 variants among travelers entering Xiamen International Airport and the Port of Xiamen from February to August 2023. A total of 97 imported SARS-CoV-2 sequences among travelers from 223 cases collected from 12 different countries and regions were identified by real-time RT-PCR. Next-generation sequencing was used to generate high-quality complete sequences for phylogenetic and population dynamic analysis. The study revealed a dominant shift in variant distribution, in which the XBB subvariant (XBB.1.5, XBB.1.16, XBB.1.9, XBB.2.3, and EG.5.1) accounted for approximately 88.8% of the sequenced samples. In detail, clades 23D and 23E accounted for 26.2% and 21.4% of the sequenced samples, respectively, while clades 23B (13.6%) and 23F (10.7%) took the third and fourth spots in the order of imported sequences, respectively. Additionally, the XBB.2.3 variants were first identified in imported cases from the mainland of Xiamen, China on 27 February 2023. The spatiotemporal analyses of recent viral genome sequences from a limited number of travelers into Xiamen provide valuable insights into the situation surrounding SARS-CoV-2 and highlight the importance of sentinel surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 variants in the national border screening of incoming travelers, which serves as an early warning system for the presence of highly transmissible circulating SARS-CoV-2 lineages.

MeSH

Sentinel Surveillance, Virology, Sars Virus, High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing, Airports, Covid-19, Sars-Cov-2