An emergent clade of SARS-CoV-2 linked to returned travellers from Iran
John‐Sebastian Eden, Rebecca J. Rockett, Ian Carter, Hossinur Rahman, Joep de Ligt, James Hadfield, Matthew Storey, Xiaoyun Ren, Rachel L. Tulloch, Kerri Basile, Jessica Wells, Roy Byun, Nicky Gilroy, Matthew O’Sullivan, Vitali Sintchenko, Sharon Chen, Susan Maddocks, Tania C. Sorrell, Edward C. Holmes, Dominic E. Dwyer, Jen Kok, for the 2019-nCoV Study Group, Linda Donovan, Shanil Kumar, Tyna Tran, Danny Ko, Christine Ngoc Ngo, Tharshini Sivaruban, Verlaine Timms, Connie Lam, Mailie Gall, Karen-Ann Gray, Rosemarie Sadsad, Alicia Arnott
Abstract
The SARS-CoV-2 epidemic has rapidly spread outside China with major outbreaks occurring in Italy, South Korea, and Iran. Phylogenetic analyses of whole-genome sequencing data identified a distinct SARS-CoV-2 clade linked to travellers returning from Iran to Australia and New Zealand. This study highlights potential viral diversity driving the epidemic in Iran, and underscores the power of rapid genome sequencing and public data sharing to improve the detection and management of emerging infectious diseases.