Zhakparov Damir, Quirin Yves, Xiao Yi, Battaglia Nicole, Holzer Michael, Bühler Martin, Kistler Walter, Engel Doortje, Zumthor Jon Paulin, Caduff Alexa, Baerenfaller Katja
Swiss Institute of Allergy and Asthma Research (SIAF), University of Zurich, 7265 Davos, Switzerland.
Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (SIB), 1005 Lausanne, Switzerland.
Microorganisms. 2023 Oct 30;11(11):2660. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms11112660.
The sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater is an unbiased method to detect the spread of emerging variants and to track regional infection dynamics, which is especially useful in case of limited testing and clinical sequencing. To test how major international events influence the spread of new variants we have sequenced SARS-CoV-2 RNA in the wastewater samples of Davos, Landquart, Lostallo, and St. Moritz in the Swiss canton of Grisons in the time around the international sports competitions in Davos and St. Moritz in December 2021, and additionally in May 2022 and January 2023 in Davos and St. Moritz during the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos. The prevalence of the variants identified from the wastewater sequencing data showed that the Omicron variant BA.1 had spread in Davos and St. Moritz during the international sporting events hosted there in December 2021. This spread was associated with an increase in case numbers, while it was not observed in Landquart and Lostallo. Another instance of new variant spread occurred during the WEF in January 2023, when the Omicron variant BA.2.75 arrived in Davos but not in St. Moritz. We can therefore conclude that major international events promote the spread of new variants in the respective host region, which has important implications for the protective measures that should be taken.
对污水中的新冠病毒RNA进行测序是一种无偏倚的方法，可用于检测新出现变异株的传播并追踪区域感染动态，在检测和临床测序受限的情况下尤其有用。为了测试重大国际活动如何影响新变异株的传播，我们对瑞士格劳宾登州达沃斯、兰德夸特、洛斯塔洛和圣莫里茨的污水样本中的新冠病毒RNA进行了测序，时间涵盖2021年12月在达沃斯和圣莫里茨举办国际体育赛事前后，以及2022年5月和2023年1月达沃斯举办世界经济论坛（WEF）期间的圣莫里茨。从污水测序数据中鉴定出的变异株流行情况表明，奥密克戎变异株BA.1在2021年12月于当地举办的国际体育赛事期间在达沃斯和圣莫里茨传播。这种传播与病例数增加相关，而在兰德夸特和洛斯塔洛未观察到这种情况。新变异株传播的另一个例子发生在2023年1月的世界经济论坛期间，当时奥密克戎变异株BA.2.75抵达了达沃斯，但未抵达圣莫里茨。因此，我们可以得出结论，重大国际活动会促进新变异株在各自主办地区的传播，这对应采取的保护措施具有重要意义。
