Abstract
An outbreak of 59 cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) originated with 13 cases linked by a 7 h, 17% occupancy flight into Ireland, summer 2020. The flight-associated attack rate was 9.8-17.8%. Spread to 46 non-flight cases occurred country-wide. Asymptomatic/pre-symptomatic transmission in-flight from a point source is implicated by 99% homology across the virus genome in five cases travelling from three different continents. Restriction of movement on arrival and robust contact tracing can limit propagation post-flight.
Keywords:
COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; aircraft; flight; in-flight transmission; passenger.
MeSH terms
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Air Travel*
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Asymptomatic Diseases
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Betacoronavirus / genetics
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Betacoronavirus / isolation & purification*
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COVID-19
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Contact Tracing
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Coronavirus Infections / epidemiology*
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Coronavirus Infections / prevention & control
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Coronavirus Infections / transmission
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Coronavirus Infections / virology
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Disease Outbreaks
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Environmental Exposure
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Family Characteristics
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Forms and Records Control
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Genome, Viral
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Hospitalization
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Humans
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Infection Control / methods
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Ireland / epidemiology
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Nasopharynx / virology
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Pandemics* / prevention & control
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Pneumonia, Viral / epidemiology*
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Pneumonia, Viral / prevention & control
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Pneumonia, Viral / transmission
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Pneumonia, Viral / virology
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RNA, Viral / genetics
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SARS-CoV-2
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Seasons
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Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid
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Time Factors
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Travel-Related Illness*
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Whole Genome Sequencing