Genomic epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in Colombia

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was first diagnosed in Colombia from a traveler arriving from Italy on February 26, 2020. To date, available data on the origins and number or introductions of SARS-CoV-2 into the country are limited.

Here, we sequenced SARS-CoV-2 from 43 clinical samples and-together with another 73 genomes sequences available from the country-we investigated the emergence and the routes of importation of COVID-19 into Colombia using epidemiological, historical air travel and phylogenetic observations.

Our study provided evidence of multiple introductions, mostly from Europe, with at least 12 lineages being documented. Phylogenetic findings validated the linkage of epidemiologically-linked transmission chains.

Our results demonstrate the advantages of genome sequencing to complement COVID-19 outbreak investigation and underscores that human mobility and genetic data are relevant to complete epidemiological investigation and better characterize virus transmission dynamics at local scales.