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Updated: May 15, 2025

Author Spotlight: Advancements in Multiplex Detection of Respiratory Viruses
Published on: November 10, 2023
SARS-CoV-2 epidemiology, kinetics, and evolution: A narrative review
Samuel Alizon1, Mircea T Sofonea2,3
1CIRB, CNRS, INSERM, Collège de France, Université PSL, Paris, France.
Abstract:
Since winter 2019, SARS-CoV-2 has emerged, spread, and evolved all around the globe. We explore 4 y of evolutionary epidemiology of this virus, ranging from the applied public health challenges to the more conceptual evolutionary biology perspectives. Through this review, we first present the spread and lethality of the infections it causes, starting from its emergence in Wuhan (China) from the initial epidemics all around the world, compare the virus to other betacoronaviruses, focus on its airborne transmission, compare containment strategies ("zero-COVID" vs. "herd immunity"), explain its phylogeographical tracking, underline the importance of natural selection on the epidemics, mention its within-host population dynamics. Finally, we discuss how the pandemic has transformed (or should transform) the surveillance and prevention of viral respiratory infections and identify perspectives for the research on epidemiology of COVID-19.
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