Estimating the transmissibility of SARS-CoV-2 VOC 202012/01 in Japan using travel history information

Taishi Kayano; Hiroshi Nishiura; Taishi Kayano; Hiroshi Nishiura

doi:10.3934/mbe.2022125

Mathematical Biosciences and Engineering

2022, Volume 19, Issue 3: 2750-2761. doi: 10.3934/mbe.2022125

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Estimating the transmissibility of SARS-CoV-2 VOC 202012/01 in Japan using travel history information

Taishi Kayano ,
Hiroshi Nishiura ^,

Kyoto University School of Public Health, Yoshida-Konoe-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606-8501, Japan

Received: 06 October 2021 Revised: 23 December 2021 Accepted: 25 December 2021 Published: 12 January 2022

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), has rapidly spread across the globe. The variant of concern (VOC) 202012/01 (B.1.1.7, also known as the alpha variant) bearing the N501Y mutation emerged in late 2020. VOC 202012/01 was more transmissible than existing SARS-CoV-2 variants and swiftly became dominant in many regions. More than 150 cases of VOC 202012/01 were reported in Japan by 26 February 2021. During the very early stage of introduction, only a subset arose from domestic transmission. If the reproduction number R (i.e., the average number of secondary transmission events caused by a single primary case) is greater than 1, the corresponding proportion should converge to 1 in a short period of time, and thus it is critical to understand the transmissibility of VOC 202012/01 based on travel history information. The present study aimed to estimate R of VOC 202012/01 using overseas travel history information. A mathematical model was developed to capture the relationship between travel history and R. We obtained travel history data for each confirmed case of VOC 202012/01 infection from 26 December 2020 to 26 February 2021. Maximum likelihood estimation was used to estimate R, accounting for right censoring during real-time estimation. In the baseline scenario, R was estimated at 2.11 (95% confidence interval: 1.63, 2.94). By 26 February 2021, an average of nine generations had elapsed since the first imported case. If the generation time of VOC 202012/01 was assumed to be longer, R was increased, consistent with estimates of R from case data. The estimated R of VOC 202012/01 in Japan exceeded 1 on 26 February 2021, suggesting that domestic transmission events caused a major epidemic. Moreover, because our estimate of R was dependent on generation time and ascertainment biases, continuous monitoring of contact tracing data is crucial to decipher the mechanisms of increased VOC 202012/01 transmissibility.
- Coronavirus,
- Statistical estimation,
- Epidemiological model,
- Mathematical model,
- Variant of Concern,
- Mutation
Citation: Taishi Kayano, Hiroshi Nishiura. Estimating the transmissibility of SARS-CoV-2 VOC 202012/01 in Japan using travel history information[J]. Mathematical Biosciences and Engineering, 2022, 19(3): 2750-2761. doi: 10.3934/mbe.2022125

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Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), has rapidly spread across the globe. The variant of concern (VOC) 202012/01 (B.1.1.7, also known as the alpha variant) bearing the N501Y mutation emerged in late 2020. VOC 202012/01 was more transmissible than existing SARS-CoV-2 variants and swiftly became dominant in many regions. More than 150 cases of VOC 202012/01 were reported in Japan by 26 February 2021. During the very early stage of introduction, only a subset arose from domestic transmission. If the reproduction number R (i.e., the average number of secondary transmission events caused by a single primary case) is greater than 1, the corresponding proportion should converge to 1 in a short period of time, and thus it is critical to understand the transmissibility of VOC 202012/01 based on travel history information. The present study aimed to estimate R of VOC 202012/01 using overseas travel history information. A mathematical model was developed to capture the relationship between travel history and R. We obtained travel history data for each confirmed case of VOC 202012/01 infection from 26 December 2020 to 26 February 2021. Maximum likelihood estimation was used to estimate R, accounting for right censoring during real-time estimation. In the baseline scenario, R was estimated at 2.11 (95% confidence interval: 1.63, 2.94). By 26 February 2021, an average of nine generations had elapsed since the first imported case. If the generation time of VOC 202012/01 was assumed to be longer, R was increased, consistent with estimates of R from case data. The estimated R of VOC 202012/01 in Japan exceeded 1 on 26 February 2021, suggesting that domestic transmission events caused a major epidemic. Moreover, because our estimate of R was dependent on generation time and ascertainment biases, continuous monitoring of contact tracing data is crucial to decipher the mechanisms of increased VOC 202012/01 transmissibility.

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