Publications by authors named "Marlin D Figgins"
Background: Institutions of higher education (IHE) have been a focus of SARS-CoV-2 transmission studies but there is limited information on how viral diversity and transmission at IHE changed as the pandemic progressed.
Methods: Here we analyze 3606 viral genomes from unique COVID-19 episodes collected at a public university in Seattle, Washington from September 2020 to September 2022.
Results: Across the study period, we found evidence of frequent viral transmission among university affiliates with 60% (n = 2153) of viral genomes from campus specimens genetically identical to at least one other campus specimen.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, SARS-CoV-2 variants drove large waves of infections, fueled by increased transmissibility and immune escape. Current models focus on changes in variant frequencies without linking them to underlying transmission mechanisms of intrinsic transmissibility and immune escape. We introduce a framework connecting variant dynamics to these mechanisms, showing how host population immunity interacts with viral transmissibility and immune escape to determine relative variant fitness.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- SARS-CoV-2 variants develop mutations in the spike protein that help the virus avoid the immune system and improve its ability to bind to the ACE2 receptor and enter cells.
- Research involving over 9,000 mutations in the XBB.1.5 and BA.2 spike proteins revealed that changes occurring outside the receptor-binding domain (RBD) significantly impact ACE2 binding over the virus's evolution.
- The study identifies key mutations that enable the virus to escape neutralization by antibodies in recently infected individuals, demonstrating varying effects on immunity and potential influences on the growth rates of different SARS-CoV-2 clades.
Article Synopsis
- Novel variants, especially Omicron, have emerged during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, prompting the need for effective genomic surveillance through university testing programs.* -
- From September 2021 to February 2022, a study at a university identified 1,730 Omicron genomes out of nearly 3,000 positive cases, revealing Omicron's quicker transmission compared to Delta.* -
- Even with high vaccination rates and strict health guidelines, Omicron outpaced Delta to become the dominant strain, resulting in a significant increase in COVID-19 cases within the university community.*