Tracking transmission rates and origins of SARS-CoV-2 strains circulating in Brazil

A large international team of researchers has carried out a study aimed at tracking the transmission rates and the origin of the main SARS-CoV-2 strains currently circulating in Brazil. In his article published in the magazine. ScienceThe group describes their strategy and what they learned about the progression of COVID-19 in Brazil.

Brazil, like the United States, has adopted a non-intervention approach in managing the COVID-19 pandemic. Like the United States, the country has a leader who has not pushed for known strategies to curb the spread of the virus, such as wearing masks, self-isolation, and social distancing. The result has been one of the fastest growing epidemics in the world, just behind the US In this new effort, the researchers sought to learn more about the transmission rates and particular strains of SARS-CoV-2 than they infect people in Brazil.

The researchers note that initial efforts to slow the spread of the virus in Brazil appeared to be effective, due to the efforts of local leaders, but as the virus spread to other parts of the country, the epidemic accelerated. To learn more about the virus and why it was able to spread so quickly, the researchers used a variety of tools. One of the first was to analyze data from sources across the country that described the mobility of infections, infection rates, and deaths. They also included deaths not reported as due to COVID-19, but probably yes, most were simply labeled as severe acute respiratory infections. In that part of the study, they used the data to create model simulations. And simulations of the model showed that closing stores and schools at critical points slowed the spread of the virus. Ignoring it, on the other hand, didn’t.

Another part of the work consisted of investigating the path of infection in Brazil. In this effort, the researchers conducted PCR assays on tissue samples from 26,732 people across the country. In doing so, they discovered that approximately 29% of all samples they tested tested positive for COVID-19. They also found more than 100 strains of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. A further study showed that approximately 75% of the strains they identified were classified into three main clades, all of which originated in Europe. The researchers suggest that it was likely an increase in long-haul flights that allowed the virus to spread so widely and quickly across the country. They conclude by suggesting that Brazil needs to work more on non-pharmaceutical interventions to slow the spread of the virus.

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