Dataset Information

Time and Mode of Epidemic HCV-2 Subtypes Spreading in Europe: Phylodynamics in Italy and Albania.

ABSTRACT: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 2 causes about 10% of global infections and has the most variable circulation profile in Europe. The history of "endemic" HCV-2 subtypes has been satisfactorily reconstructed, instead there is little information about the recent spread of the "epidemic" subtypes, including HCV-2c. To investigate the origin and dispersion pathways of HCV-2c, 245 newly characterized Italian and Albanian HCV-2 NS5B sequences were aligned with 247 publicly available sequences and included in phylogeographic and phylodynamic analyses using the Bayesian framework. Our findings show that HCV-2c was the most prevalent subtype in Italy and Albania. The phylogeographic analysis suggested an African origin of HCV-2c before it reached Italy about in the 1940s. Phylodynamic analysis revealed an exponential increase in the effective number of infections and Re in Italy between the 1940s and 1960s, and in Albania between the 1990s and the early 2000s. It seems very likely that HCV-2c reached Italy from Africa at the time of the second Italian colonization but did not reach Albania until the period of dramatic migration to Italy in the 1990s. This study contributes to reconstructing the history of the spread of epidemic HCV-2 subtypes to Europe.

SUBMITTER: Ebranati E

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7922790 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Time and Mode of Epidemic HCV-2 Subtypes Spreading in Europe: Phylodynamics in Italy and Albania.

Ebranati Erika E Mancon Alessandro A Airoldi Martina M Renica Silvia S Shkjezi Renata R Dragusha Pranvera P Della Ventura Carla C Ciccaglione Anna Rita AR Ciccozzi Massimo M Bino Silvia S Tanzi Elisabetta E Micheli Valeria V Riva Elisabetta E Galli Massimo M Zehender Gianguglielmo G

Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) 20210217 2

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 2 causes about 10% of global infections and has the most variable circulation profile in Europe. The history of "endemic" HCV-2 subtypes has been satisfactorily reconstructed, instead there is little information about the recent spread of the "epidemic" subtypes, including HCV-2c. To investigate the origin and dispersion pathways of HCV-2c, 245 newly characterized Italian and Albanian HCV-2 NS5B sequences were aligned with 247 publicly available sequences and inc ...[more]

PMID: 33671355

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Project description:BackgroundMathematical and computational models for infectious diseases are increasingly used to support public-health decisions; however, their reliability is currently under debate. Real-time forecasts of epidemic spread using data-driven models have been hindered by the technical challenges posed by parameter estimation and validation. Data gathered for the 2009 H1N1 influenza crisis represent an unprecedented opportunity to validate real-time model predictions and define the main success criteria for different approaches.MethodsWe used the Global Epidemic and Mobility Model to generate stochastic simulations of epidemic spread worldwide, yielding (among other measures) the incidence and seeding events at a daily resolution for 3,362 subpopulations in 220 countries. Using a Monte Carlo Maximum Likelihood analysis, the model provided an estimate of the seasonal transmission potential during the early phase of the H1N1 pandemic and generated ensemble forecasts for the activity peaks in the northern hemisphere in the fall/winter wave. These results were validated against the real-life surveillance data collected in 48 countries, and their robustness assessed by focusing on 1) the peak timing of the pandemic; 2) the level of spatial resolution allowed by the model; and 3) the clinical attack rate and the effectiveness of the vaccine. In addition, we studied the effect of data incompleteness on the prediction reliability.ResultsReal-time predictions of the peak timing are found to be in good agreement with the empirical data, showing strong robustness to data that may not be accessible in real time (such as pre-exposure immunity and adherence to vaccination campaigns), but that affect the predictions for the attack rates. The timing and spatial unfolding of the pandemic are critically sensitive to the level of mobility data integrated into the model.ConclusionsOur results show that large-scale models can be used to provide valuable real-time forecasts of influenza spreading, but they require high-performance computing. The quality of the forecast depends on the level of data integration, thus stressing the need for high-quality data in population-based models, and of progressive updates of validated available empirical knowledge to inform these models.

Dataset Information

Time and Mode of Epidemic HCV-2 Subtypes Spreading in Europe: Phylodynamics in Italy and Albania.

Publications

Time and Mode of Epidemic HCV-2 Subtypes Spreading in Europe: Phylodynamics in Italy and Albania.

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