Spatial and temporal transmission dynamics of respiratory syncytial virus in New Zealand before and after the COVID-19 pandemic
Human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a major cause of acute respiratory infection. In 2020, RSV was eliminated from New Zealand due to non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPI) used to control the spread of SARS-CoV-2. However, in 2021, following a brief quarantine-free travel agreement with Australia, there was a large-scale nationwide outbreak of RSV that led to reported cases more than five-times higher than typical seasonal patterns. We generated 1470 viral genomes of both RSV-A and RSV-B sampled between 2015-2022 from across New Zealand. Using a phylodynamics approach, we used these data to better understand RSV transmission patterns in New Zealand prior to 2020, and how RSV became re-established in the community following the relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions. We found that in 2021, there was a large epidemic of RSV due to an increase in importations, leading to several large genomic clusters of both RSV-A ON1 and RSV-B BA9 genotypes. However, while a number of viral importations were detected, there was also a major reduction in RSV genetic diversity compared to pre-pandemic years. These data reveal the impact of NPI used during the COVID-19 pandemic on other respiratory infections and highlight the important insights that can be gained from viral genomes.
Authors
- Timothy J. Wood (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9177-704X)
- Chor Ee Tan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8573-5780)
- Peter McIntyre (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5808-7450)
- Meaghan O’Neill
- Jing Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7002-2374)
- Nayyereh Aminisani (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9947-2064)
- Klarysse Berquist
- A. C. M. Claasen
- David Welch
- Tineke Jennings
- Nikki Turner (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8760-5245)
- Tony Dowell
- Lauren Jelley (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5993-6266)
- Helen Johnston (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7862-5858)
- Srushti Utekar
- Adrian Trenholme (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1517-8103)
- Jordan Douglas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0371-9961)
- Joep de Ligt (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0348-419X)
- Catherine A. Byrnes (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3032-3172)
- Ruth Seeds
- Judy Bocacao
- M. Allais
Institutions
- St. Jude Children's Research Hospital (US)
- University of Auckland (NZ)
- Hutt Hospital (NZ)
- Counties Manukau District Health Board (NZ)
- Capital and Coast District Health Board (NZ)
- New Zealand Institute for Public Health and Forensic Science (NZ)
- Massey University (NZ)
- University of Otago (NZ)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2024-11-11
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-53998-5
- Citations
- 7
- Primary Topic
- Respiratory viral infections research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 2.71
Funders
- University of Otago
- National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases