An emergent clade of SARS-CoV-2 linked to returned travellers from Iran

John-Sebastian Eden; Rebecca Rockett; Ian Carter; Hossinur Rahman; Joep de Ligt; James Hadfield; Matthew Storey; Xiaoyun Ren; Rachel Tulloch; Kerri Basile; Jessica Wells; Roy Byun; Nicky Gilroy; Matthew V O'Sullivan; Vitali Sintchenko; Sharon C Chen; Susan Maddocks; Tania C Sorrell; Edward C Holmes; Dominic E Dwyer; Jen Kok; 2019-nCoV Study Group

doi:10.1093/ve/veaa027

An emergent clade of SARS-CoV-2 linked to returned travellers from Iran

Virus Evol. 2020 Apr 10;6(1):veaa027. doi: 10.1093/ve/veaa027. eCollection 2020 Jan.

Authors

John-Sebastian Eden^{1

2}, Rebecca Rockett^{1

3

4}, Ian Carter³, Hossinur Rahman³, Joep de Ligt⁵, James Hadfield⁶, Matthew Storey⁵, Xiaoyun Ren⁵, Rachel Tulloch^{1

2}, Kerri Basile³, Jessica Wells³, Roy Byun⁷, Nicky Gilroy³, Matthew V O'Sullivan^{3

4}, Vitali Sintchenko^{1

3

4}, Sharon C Chen^{1

3

4}, Susan Maddocks³, Tania C Sorrell^{1

2

3}, Edward C Holmes¹, Dominic E Dwyer^{1

3

4}, Jen Kok^{3

4}; 2019-nCoV Study Group

Affiliations

¹ Marie Bashir Institute for Infectious Diseases and Biosecurity, School of Life and Environmental Sciences & School of Medical Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
² Centre for Virus Research & Centre for Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, Westmead Institute for Medical Research, PO Box 412, Westmead, NSW 2145, Australia.
³ Centre for Infectious Diseases and Microbiology Laboratory Services, NSW Health Pathology - Institute of Clinical Pathology and Medical Research, Westmead, NSW 2145, Australia.
⁴ Centre for Infectious Diseases and Microbiology - Public Health, Westmead Hospital, Westmead, NSW 2145, Australia.
⁵ Institute of Environmental Science and Research, Porirua 5240, New Zealand.
⁶ Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA 98109, USA.
⁷ NSW Ministry of Health, North Sydney, NSW 2059, Australia.

Abstract

The SARS-CoV-2 epidemic has rapidly spread outside China with major outbreaks occurring in Italy, South Korea, and Iran. Phylogenetic analyses of whole-genome sequencing data identified a distinct SARS-CoV-2 clade linked to travellers returning from Iran to Australia and New Zealand. This study highlights potential viral diversity driving the epidemic in Iran, and underscores the power of rapid genome sequencing and public data sharing to improve the detection and management of emerging infectious diseases.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; genome sequencing; phylogenetics.