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Boshier, F.A.T., Venturini, C., Stirrup, O. et al. (42 more authors) (2021) The Alpha variant was not associated with excess nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 infection in a multi-centre UK hospital study. Journal of Infection, 83 (6). pp. 693-700. ISSN 0163-4453
Abstract
Objectives
Recently emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants have been associated with an increased rate of transmission within the community. We sought to determine whether this also resulted in increased transmission within hospitals.
Methods
We collected viral sequences and epidemiological data of patients with community and healthcare associated SARS-CoV-2 infections, sampled from 16th November 2020 to 10th January 2021, from nine hospitals participating in the COG-UK HOCI study. Outbreaks were identified using ward information, lineage and pairwise genetic differences between viral sequences.
Results
Mixed effects logistic regression analysis of 4184 sequences showed healthcare-acquired infections were no more likely to be identified as the Alpha variant than community acquired infections. Nosocomial outbreaks were investigated based on overlapping ward stay and SARS-CoV-2 genome sequence similarity. There was no significant difference in the number of patients involved in outbreaks caused by the Alpha variant compared to outbreaks caused by other lineages.
Conclusions
We find no evidence to support it causing more nosocomial transmission than previous lineages. This suggests that the stringent infection prevention measures already in place in UK hospitals contained the spread of the Alpha variant as effectively as other less transmissible lineages, providing reassurance of their efficacy against emerging variants of concern.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The British Infection Association. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
Keywords: | Alpha variant; COVID-19; Lineage B.1.1.7; Nosocomial outbreaks; SARS-CoV-2; Transmissibility; Variants of concern |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Sheffield Teaching Hospitals |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number Medical Research Council MC_PC_4050788737 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 08 Nov 2021 12:19 |
Last Modified: | 11 May 2023 15:21 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Elsevier BV |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1016/j.jinf.2021.09.022 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:180130 |
Available Versions of this Item
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The Alpha Variant B.1.1.7 was not associated with excess healthcare acquired COVID-19 infection in a multi-centre UK hospital study. (deposited 11 May 2023 15:18)
- The Alpha variant was not associated with excess nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 infection in a multi-centre UK hospital study. (deposited 08 Nov 2021 12:19) [Currently Displayed]