학술논문

Insights from a workplace SARS-CoV-2 specimen collection program, with genomes placed into global sequence phylogeny
Document Type
Report
Source
PLoS ONE. April 28, 2023, Vol. 18 Issue 4, e0285042
Subject
United States
Language
English
ISSN
1932-6203
Abstract
In 2020, the Department of Energy established the National Virtual Biotechnology Laboratory (NVBL) to address key challenges associated with COVID-19. As part of that effort, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) established a capability to collect and analyze specimens from employees who self-reported symptoms consistent with the disease. During the spring and fall of 2021, 688 specimens were screened for SARS-CoV-2, with 64 (9.3%) testing positive using reverse-transcriptase quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). Of these, 36 samples were released for research. All 36 positive samples released for research were sequenced and genotyped. Here, the relationship between patient age and viral load as measured by Ct values was measured and determined to be only weakly significant. Consensus sequences for each sample were placed into a global phylogeny and transmission dynamics were investigated, revealing that the closest relative for many samples was from outside of Washington state, indicating mixing of viral pools within geographic regions.
Author(s): Owen P. Leiser 1, Deanna L. Auberry 2, Erica Bakker 2, Will Chrisler 3, Kristin Engbrecht 2, Heather Engelmann 2, Sarah Fansler 4, Vincent Gerbasi 3, Joshua Hansen 2, [...]