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On the evolutionary epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 Day, Troy; Gandon, Sylvain; Lion, Sébastien; Otto, Sarah P., 1967-

Abstract

There is no doubt that the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 is mutating and thus has the potential to adapt during the current pandemic. Whether this evolution will lead to changes in the transmission, the duration, or the severity of the disease is not clear. This has led to considerable scientific and media debate, from raising alarms about evolutionary change to dismissing it. Here we review what little is currently known about the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 and extend existing evolutionary theory to consider how selection might be acting upon the virus during the COVID-19 pandemic. While there is currently no definitive evidence that SARS-CoV-2 is undergoing further adaptation, continued, evidence-based, analysis of evolutionary change is important so that public health measures can be adjusted in response to substantive changes in the infectivity or severity of COVID-19.

Item Metadata

Title
On the evolutionary epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2
Creator
Day, Troy; Gandon, Sylvain; Lion, Sébastien; Otto, Sarah P., 1967-
Publisher
Current Biology
Date Issued
2020-06-05
Description
There is no doubt that the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 is mutating and thus has the potential to adapt during the current pandemic. Whether this evolution will lead to changes in the transmission, the duration, or the severity of the disease is not clear. This has led to considerable scientific and media debate, from raising alarms about evolutionary change to dismissing it. Here we review what little is currently known about the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 and extend existing evolutionary theory to consider how selection might be acting upon the virus during the COVID-19 pandemic. While there is currently no definitive evidence that SARS-CoV-2 is undergoing further adaptation, continued, evidence-based, analysis of evolutionary change is important so that public health measures can be adjusted in response to substantive changes in the infectivity or severity of COVID-19.
Subject
COVID-19 (Disease)
Genre
Article; Postprint
Type
Text
Language
eng
Date Available
2020-10-29
Provider
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
DOI
10.14288/1.0394858
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/2429/76411
Affiliation
Science, Faculty of; Non UBC; Zoology, Department of
Citation
Day T, Gandon S, Lion S, Otto SP. On the evolutionary epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2. Curr Biol. 2020 Aug 3;30(15):R849-R857.
Publisher DOI
10.1016/j.cub.2020.06.031
Peer Review Status
Reviewed
Scholarly Level
Faculty
Rights URI
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Aggregated Source Repository
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Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International