Wednesday, August 26, 2020
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Several events have already been identified internationally that have particularly driven the spread of the coronavirus. US researchers are now finding another so-called superspreading event. The conference in February probably led to thousands of infections.
In the United States, researchers have identified a so-called superspreading event related to the spread of the coronavirus. It is a conference that was attended by around 200 people in Boston at the end of February. The gathering is now seen as an early source of contagion, which has massively accelerated the spread of Sars-CoV-2 in the US state of Massachusetts. As of August 1, there are 111,070 confirmed infections and 8,433 deaths there, according to the study.
“Ultimately, more than 90 cases were diagnosed in people associated with this conference, suggesting that an overarching event occurred there,” the researchers wrote in their not yet independently peer-reviewed study. The researchers, including those from the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard University in Cambridge, had genetically examined coronavirus samples from all over Massachusetts for their study.
They sequenced and analyzed a total of 772 complete virus genomes and found 80 virus variants that had been introduced into the Boston region, mainly from other parts of the USA and Europe. However, “hundreds of major outbreak cases” were particularly noticeable in various settings, including the conference. The meeting took place on February 26th and 27th and could be linked to about 20,000 infections, said virologist Bronwyn MacInnis the US news channel CNN. She had worked on the study at the Broad Institute.
Hardly any risk awareness
The timing of the conference was decisive for the wide distribution. At the end of February, most people were still unaware of the pandemic risk. “A week later the event would probably have been canceled,” said MacInnis. At this point in time, however, there were no opportunities for testing, nor were any attention paid to distance rules or the wearing of a mask. Another spread factor was the fact that the participants had come to Boston from different places, including areas where the coronavirus was already spreading. When they returned, they carried the virus on.
The researchers did not name the conference specifically, according to the “Boston Globe” it should be an international meeting of executives from the biotechnology company Biogen at the Marriott Long Wharf Hotel in Boston. The company said it followed the guidelines in force in February and informed the authorities when multiple illnesses became known.
At least one care facility and one homeless shelter were affected by the post-conference outbreak. “Our results repeatedly underscore the close ties between seemingly segregated populations: viruses brought in from international business trips caused major outbreaks to the homeless, spread throughout the Boston area, and exported to other national and international locations,” the researchers wrote in the study.
During the corona pandemic, superspreading events were repeatedly identified, including the ski vacation in Ischgl, Austria, a Baptist church service in Frankfurt, a private event in a restaurant in Lower Saxony, a dormitory for migrant workers in Singapore, a Zumba course in South Korea and an outbreak in the Tönnies meat processing plant. One person infects many more than average.
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