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Updated: Oct 27, 2025

Author Spotlight: Advancements in Multiplex Detection of Respiratory Viruses
Published on: November 10, 2023
Spatiotemporal invasion dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 lineage B.1.1.7 emergence
Moritz U G Kraemer1,2, Verity Hill3,4, Christopher Ruis2,5
1Instituto de Medicina Tropical, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil. a.rambaut@ed.ac.uk moritz.kraemer@zoo.ox.ac.uk s.scarpino@northeastern.edu oliver.pybus@zoo.ox.ac.uk.
Abstract:
Understanding the causes and consequences of the emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants of concern is crucial to pandemic control yet difficult to achieve because they arise in the context of variable human behavior and immunity. We investigated the spatial invasion dynamics of lineage B.1.1.7 by jointly analyzing UK human mobility, virus genomes, and community-based polymerase chain reaction data. We identified a multistage spatial invasion process in which early B.1.1.7 growth rates were associated with mobility and asymmetric lineage export from a dominant source location, enhancing the effects of B.1.1.7's increased intrinsic transmissibility. We further explored how B.1.1.7 spread was shaped by nonpharmaceutical interventions and spatial variation in previous attack rates. Our findings show that careful accounting of the behavioral and epidemiological context within which variants of concern emerge is necessary to interpret correctly their observed relative growth rates.
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