iGeneTech Bioscience Co., Ltd.
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Phylogenomic tracing of asymptomatic transmission in a COVID-19 outbreak

Ju Zhang; Nan Ding; Yangzi Song; Rui Song; Yang Pan; Linghang Wang; Shuo Yan; Qi Wang; Shanfang Ma; Lirong Wei; Fengting Yu; Lianhe Lu; Fujie Zhang; Chen Chen; Hui Zeng
The Innovation 2021;2(2):100099 DOI:10.1016/j.xinn.2021.100099
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SARS-CoV-2 has caused over 100 million deaths and continues to spread rapidly around the world. Asymptomatic transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is the Achilles’ heel of COVID-19 public health control measures. Phylogenomic data on SARS-CoV-2 could provide more direct information about asymptomatic transmission. In this study, using a novel MINERVA sequencing technology, we traced asymptomatic transmission of COVID-19 patients in Beijing, China. One hundred and seventy-eight close contacts were quarantined, and 14 COVID-19 patients were laboratory confirmed by RT-PCR. We provide direct phylogenomic evidence of asymptomatic transmission by constructing the median joining network in the cluster. These data could help us to determine whether the current symptom-based screening should cover asymptomatic persons.