ABSTRACT
The Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern (VOC lineage B.1.1.529), which became dominant in many countries during early 2022, includes several subvariants with strikingly different genetic characteristics. Several countries, including Denmark, have observed the two Omicron subvariants: BA.1 and BA.2. In Denmark the latter has rapidly replaced the former as the dominant subvariant. Based on nationwide Danish data, we estimate the transmission dynamics of BA.1 and BA.2 following the spread of Omicron VOC within Danish households in late December 2021 and early January 2022. Among 8,541 primary household cases, of which 2,122 were BA.2, we identified a total of 5,702 secondary infections among 17,945 potential secondary cases during a 1-7 day follow-up period. The secondary attack rate (SAR) was estimated as 29% and 39% in households infected with Omicron BA.1 and BA.2, respectively. We found BA.2 to be associated with an increased susceptibility of infection for unvaccinated individuals (Odds Ratio (OR) 2.19; 95%-CI 1.58-3.04), fully vaccinated individuals (OR 2.45; 95%-CI 1.77-3.40) and booster-vaccinated individuals (OR 2.99; 95%-CI 2.11-4.24), compared to BA.1. We also found an increased transmissibility from unvaccinated primary cases in BA.2 households when compared to BA.1 households, with an OR of 2.62 (95%-CI 1.96-3.52). The pattern of increased transmissibility in BA.2 households was not observed for fully vaccinated and booster-vaccinated primary cases, where the OR of transmission was below 1 for BA.2 compared to BA.1. We conclude that Omicron BA.2 is inherently substantially more transmissible than BA.1, and that it also possesses immune-evasive properties that further reduce the protective effect of vaccination against infection, but do not increase its transmissibility from vaccinated individuals with breakthrough infections.
Subject(s)
Breakthrough PainABSTRACT
1The SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant of concern (VOC), which has shown increased transmission compared with previous variants, emerged rapidly globally during the first half of 2021, and became one of the most widespread SARS-CoV-2 variants worldwide. We utilized total population data from 24,693 Danish households with 53,584 potential secondary cases to estimate household transmission of the Delta VOC in relation to vaccination status. We found that the vaccine effectiveness against susceptibility (VES) was 61% (95%-CI: 59-63) and that the vaccine effectiveness against transmissibility (VET) was 42% (95%-CI: 39-45). We also found that unvaccinated individuals with an infection exhibited a higher viral load (one third of a standard deviation) compared to fully vaccinated individuals with a breakthrough infection. Our results imply that vaccinations reduce susceptibility as well as transmissibility. The results are important for policy makers to select strategies for reducing transmission of SARS-CoV-2.
Subject(s)
Breakthrough PainABSTRACT
The Omicron variant of concern (VOC) is a rapidly spreading variant of SARS-CoV-2 that is likely to overtake the previously dominant Delta VOC in many countries by the end of 2021. We estimated the transmission dynamics following the spread of Omicron VOC within Danish households during December 2021. We used data from Danish registers to estimate the household secondary attack rate (SAR). Among 11,937 households (2,225 with the Omicron VOC), we identified 6,397 secondary infections during a 1-7 day follow-up period. The SAR was 31\% and 21\% in households with the Omicron and Delta VOC, respectively. We found an increased transmission for unvaccinated individuals, and a reduced transmission for booster-vaccinated individuals, compared to fully vaccinated individuals. Comparing households infected with the Omicron to Delta VOC, we found an 1.17 (95\%-CI: 0.99-1.38) times higher SAR for unvaccinated, 2.61 times (95\%-CI: 2.34-2.90) higher for fully vaccinated and 3.66 (95\%-CI: 2.65-5.05) times higher for booster-vaccinated individuals, demonstrating strong evidence of immune evasiveness of the Omicron VOC. Our findings confirm that the rapid spread of the Omicron VOC primarily can be ascribed to the immune evasiveness rather than an inherent increase in the basic transmissibility.
ABSTRACT
Antigen test kits have been used extensively as a screening tool during the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). While it is generally expected that taking samples for analysis with PCR testing gives more reliable results than using antigen test kits, the overall sensitivity and specificity of the two protocols in the field have not yet been estimated without assuming that the PCR test constitutes a gold standard. We use latent class models to estimate the in situ performance of both PCR and antigen testing, using data from the Danish national registries. The results are based on 240,000 paired tests results sub-selected from the 55 million test results that were obtained in Denmark during the period from February 2021 until June 2021. We found that the specificity of both tests is very high in our data sample (>99.7%), while the sensitivity of PCR sampling was estimated to be 95.7% (95% CI: 92.8-98.4%) and that of the antigen test kits used in Denmark over the study period was estimated at 53.8% (95% CI: 49.8-57.9%). Our findings can be used as supplementary information for consideration when implementing serial testing strategies that employ a confirmatory PCR sample following a positive result from an antigen test kit, such as the policy used in Denmark. We note that while this strategy reduces the number of false positives associated with antigen test screening, it also increases the false negatives. We demonstrate that the balance of trading false positives for false negatives only favours the use of serial testing when the expected true prevalence is low. Our results contain substantial uncertainty in the estimates for sensitivity due to the relatively small number of positive test results over this period: validation of our findings in a population with higher prevalence would therefore be highly relevant for future work.
ABSTRACT
In early 2021, the SARS-CoV-2 lineage B.1.1.7 became dominant across large parts of the world. In Denmark, comprehensive and real-time test, contact-tracing, and sequencing efforts were applied to sustain epidemic control. Here, we use these data to investigate the transmissibility, introduction, and onward transmission of B.1.1.7 in Denmark. In a period with stable restrictions, we estimated an increased B.1.1.7 transmissibility of 58% (95% CI: [56%,60%]) relative to other lineages. Epidemiological and phylogenetic analyses revealed that 37% of B.1.1.7 cases were related to the initial introduction in November 2020. Continuous introductions contributed substantially to case numbers, highlighting the benefit of balanced travel restrictions and self-isolation procedures coupled with comprehensive surveillance efforts, to sustain epidemic control in the face of emerging variants.
ABSTRACT
Aim The aim of this study was to estimate the household transmissibility of SARSCoV-2 for lineage B.1.1.7 compared with other lineages, by age and viral load. Furthermore, we wanted to estimate whether there is a multiplicative or additive effect of the increased transmissibility of B.1.1.7 compared with other lineages. Background New lineages of SARS-CoV-2 are of potential concern due to higher transmissibility, risk of severe outcomes, and/or escape from neutralizing antibodies. Lineage B.1.1.7 has been estimated to be more transmissible than other previously known lineages, but the association between transmissibility and risk factors, such as age of primary case and viral load is still unknown. Methods We used comprehensive administrative data from Denmark, comprising the full population, all SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR tests, and all WGS lineage data (January 11 to February 7, 2021), to estimate household transmissibility stratified by lineage B.1.1.7 and other lineages. Results We included 5,241 households with primary cases; 808 were infected with SARS-CoV-2 lineage B.1.1.7 and 4,433 were infected with other lineages. The attack rate was 38% in households with a primary case infected with B.1.1.7 and 27% in households with a primary case infected with other lineages. Primary cases infected with B.1.1.7 had an increased transmissibility of 1.5-1.7 times that of primary cases infected with other lineages. The increased transmissibility of B.1.1.7 was multiplicative across age and viral load. Conclusions The results found in this study add new knowledge that can be used to mitigate the further spread of SARS-CoV-2 lineage B.1.1.7, which is becoming increasingly widespread in numerous countries. Our results clarify that the transmissibility of B.1.1.7 should be included as a multiplicative effect in mathematical models used as a tool for decision makers. The results may have important public health implications, as household transmission may serve as a bridge between otherwise separate transmission domains, such as schools and physical workplaces, despite implemented non-pharmaceutical interventions.
ABSTRACT
Background: The more infectious SARS-CoV-2 virus lineage B.1.1.7, rapidly spread in Europe after December 2020, and a concern of B.1.1.7 causing more severe disease has been raised. Denmark has one of Europe´s highest capacities per capita of SARS-CoV-2 reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT PCR) test and whole genome sequencing (WGS). We used national health register-data to explore whether B.1.1.7 increases the risk of COVID-19 hospitalisation. Methods and Findings: In an observational cohort study we included all SARS-CoV-2 RT PCR test-positive individuals in Denmark sampled between the 1st January and until the 9th February, 2021, identified in the national COVID-19 surveillance system. The surveillance system includes national individual RT PCR test results and viral WGS analyses and data from national health registers including COVID-19 related hospital admissions defined as first admission within 14 days of the test-positive swab. The odds ratio (OR) of admission according to infection with B.1.1.7, vs other co-existing lineages, was calculated in a logistic regression model adjusted for sex, age, period, follow-up time less than 14 days, region, and comorbidities. A total of 35,887 test-positive individuals were identified, 23,057 (64%) had WGS performed, of whom 18,499 (80%) resulted in a viral genome and a total of 2,155 of these were lineage B.1.1.7. The proportion of individuals with B.1.1.7 increased from 4% in early January to 45% in early February. Among the individuals with viral genome data, B.1.1.7 was associated with a crude OR of admission of 0.87 (95%CI, 0.72-1.05) and an adjusted OR of 1.64 (95%CI, 1.32-2.04) based on 128 admissions after B.1.1.7 infection and 1,107 admissions after infection with other lineages. The adjusted OR was increased in all strata of age and calendar time - the two most important confounders of the crude OR. Conclusions: Infection with lineage B.1.1.7 was associated with an increased risk of hospitalisation compared with other lineages. This finding may have serious public health impact in countries with spread of B.1.1.7 and can support hospital preparedness and modelling of projected impact of the epidemic.Funding Statement: The authors received no specific funding for this work.Declaration of Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interest.Ethics Approval Statement: This study was conducted on administrative register data. According to Danish law, ethics approval is not needed for such research.