Earliest detection to date of SARS-CoV-2 in Florida: Identification together with influenza virus on the main entry door of a university building, February 2020

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 16; no. 1; p. e0245352
• Main Authors: Lednicky, John, Salemi, Marco, Subramaniam, Kuttichantran, Waltzek, Thomas B., Sabo-Attwood, Tara, Loeb, Julia C., Hentschel, Shannon, Tagliamonte, Massimiliano S., Marini, Simone, Alam, Md. Mahbubul, Stephenson, Caroline J., Elbadry, Maha, Morris, J. Glenn
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 13.01.2021; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Biology and life sciences; Computer and Information Sciences; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Deoxyribonucleic acid; Disease transmission; Distribution; DNA; Editing; Environmental Monitoring; Epidemiology; Florida; Genomes; Health aspects; Humans; Identification and classification; Immunology; Infectious diseases; Influenza; Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype - isolation & purification; Influenza viruses; Inspection; Medical laboratories; Medical schools; Medicine; Medicine and health sciences; Methodology; Microorganisms; Oligonucleotides; Pathogens; Pathology; People and places; Phylogeny; Public health; Real estate sales; Risk factors; SARS-CoV-2 - classification; SARS-CoV-2 - isolation & purification; School buildings; Severe acute respiratory syndrome; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Statistics; Supervision; Surface Properties; Time Factors; Universities - statistics & numerical data; Universities and colleges; Veterinary colleges; Veterinary medicine; Viruses; Visualization; Florida; England; United Kingdom > UK; United States > US
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0245352

In February and March, 2020, environmental surface swab samples were collected from the handle of the main entry door of a major university building in Florida, as part of a pilot surveillance project screening for influenza. Samples were taken at the end of regular classroom hours, between the dates of February 1–5 and February 19-March 4, 2020. Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 virus was isolated from the door handle on four of the 19 days sampled. Both SARS-CoV-2 and A(H1N1)pdm09 virus were detected in a sample collected on February 21, 2020. Based on sequence analysis, the Florida SARS-CoV-2 strain (designated UF-11) was identical to strains being identified in Washington state during the same time period, while the earliest similar sequences were sampled in China/Hubei between Dec 30 th 2019 and Jan 5 th 2020. The first human case of COVID-19 was not officially reported in Florida until March 1 st . In an analysis of sequences from COVID-19 patients in this region of Florida, there was only limited evidence of subsequent dissemination of the UF-11 strain. Identical or highly similar strains, possibly related through a common transmission chain, were detected with increasing frequency in Washington state between end of February and beginning of March. Our data provide further documentation of the rapid early spread of SARS-CoV-2 and underscore the likelihood that closely related strains were cryptically circulating in multiple U.S. communities before the first “official” cases were recognized.