TY - JOUR
T1 - Two Separate Clusters of SARS-CoV-2 Delta Variant Infections in A Group of 41 Students Travelling from India
T2 - An Illustration of the Need for Rigorous Testing and Quarantine
AU - COG-Belgium Consortium
AU - Van Elslande, Jan
AU - Kerckhofs, Femke
AU - Cuypers, Lize
AU - Wollants, Elke
AU - Potter, Barney
AU - Vankeerberghen, Anne
AU - Cattoir, Lien
AU - Holderbeke, Astrid
AU - Behillil, Sylvie
AU - Gorissen, Sarah
AU - Bloemen, Mandy
AU - Arnout, Jef
AU - Van Ranst, Marc
AU - Van Weyenbergh, Johan
AU - Maes, Piet
AU - Baele, Guy
AU - Vermeersch, Pieter
AU - André, Emmanuel
AU - Dellicour, Simon
AU - Dufrasne, François E.
AU - Bayon-Vicente, Guillaume
AU - Wattiez, Ruddy
AU - Vael, Carl
AU - Berckmans, Lynsey
AU - Selhorst, Philippe
AU - Ariën, Kevin K.
AU - Marchant, Arnaud
AU - Henin, Coralie
AU - Haerlingen, Benoit
AU - De Mendonca, Ricardo
AU - Delforge, Marie Luce
AU - Van Dooren, Sonia
AU - Hinckel, Bruno
AU - Imamura, Hideo
AU - Janssen, Toon
AU - Caljon, Ben
AU - Soetens, Oriane
AU - Piérard, Denis
AU - Demuyser, Thomas
AU - Martin, Charlotte
AU - Ruelle, Jean
AU - Mukadi, Benoit Kabamba
AU - Gala, Jean Luc
AU - Bearzatto, Bertrand
AU - Ambroise, Jérôme
AU - Philippe Van, Lint
AU - Verstrepen, Walter
AU - Naesens, Reinout
AU - Hilbert, Pascale
AU - Degosserie, Jonathan
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 by the authors.
PY - 2022/6
Y1 - 2022/6
N2 - We report two clusters of SARS-CoV-2 B.1.617.2 (Delta variant) infections in a group of 41 Indian nursing students who travelled from New Delhi, India, to Belgium via Paris, France. All students tested negative before departure and had a second negative antigen test upon arrival in Paris. Upon arrival in Belgium, the students were quarantined in eight different houses. Four houses remained COVID-free during the 24 days of follow-up, while all 27 residents of the other four houses developed an infection during quarantine, including the four residents who were fully vaccinated and the two residents who were partially vaccinated. Genome sequencing revealed two distinct clusters affecting one and three houses, respectively. In this group of students, vaccination status did not seem to prevent infection nor decrease the viral load. No severe symptoms were reported. Extensive contact tracing and 3 months of nationwide genomic surveillance confirmed that these outbreaks were successfully contained and did not contribute to secondary community transmission in Belgium. These clusters highlight the importance of repeated testing and quarantine measures among travelers coming from countries experiencing a surge of infections, as all infections were detected 6 days or more after arrival.
AB - We report two clusters of SARS-CoV-2 B.1.617.2 (Delta variant) infections in a group of 41 Indian nursing students who travelled from New Delhi, India, to Belgium via Paris, France. All students tested negative before departure and had a second negative antigen test upon arrival in Paris. Upon arrival in Belgium, the students were quarantined in eight different houses. Four houses remained COVID-free during the 24 days of follow-up, while all 27 residents of the other four houses developed an infection during quarantine, including the four residents who were fully vaccinated and the two residents who were partially vaccinated. Genome sequencing revealed two distinct clusters affecting one and three houses, respectively. In this group of students, vaccination status did not seem to prevent infection nor decrease the viral load. No severe symptoms were reported. Extensive contact tracing and 3 months of nationwide genomic surveillance confirmed that these outbreaks were successfully contained and did not contribute to secondary community transmission in Belgium. These clusters highlight the importance of repeated testing and quarantine measures among travelers coming from countries experiencing a surge of infections, as all infections were detected 6 days or more after arrival.
KW - Communicable disease control
KW - COVID-19
KW - Delta variant
KW - Quarantine
KW - SARS-CoV-2
KW - SARS-CoV-2 variants
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85132933910&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/v14061198
DO - 10.3390/v14061198
M3 - Article
C2 - 35746671
AN - SCOPUS:85132933910
SN - 1999-4915
VL - 14
JO - Viruses
JF - Viruses
IS - 6
M1 - 1198
ER -