Biogen’s Boston Medical Conference was associated with as many as 300,000 COVID-19 cases in the United States

The novel first happened at a major event Coronavirus The first began to spread around the world in February. Concerts, conferences and other gatherings were canceled or virtualized in the spring.

However, in Boston, Biogen’s elite medical conference, which took place February 26-27, continued as planned, with more than 100 cases of COVID-19. EventAccording to the contact tracer. However, a team of scientists using gene sequencing to track the continued spread of that strain of coronavirus says it actually spread further until November 1, this year.

According to scientists, 205,000 to 300,000 cases of coronavirus across the United States can be traced back to the Boston Conference. Science On thursday.

“Genome data reveals that the impact of the conference was far greater than the approximately 100 events that were directly related to the event,” the scientists write.

The authors of the treatise came to a conclusion by analyzing the genetic code of the coronavirus. Like all viruses, the virus that causes COVID-19 mutates as it travels from person to person. Tracking genetic changes in the virus across the population helps scientists understand how and where the virus spread.

“It’s as if some viruses have polka dots and others don’t. We track those polka dot viruses across time and space,” the study said. Lead author Jacob Remu told CBS Money Watch.

The day after the Boston meeting, scientists sampled 28 of the 100 patients linked to the event by contact tracers. Scientists have compared the virus strains of these patients with a national database of coronavirus infection information.

The meeting was important in spreading the virus in Boston. By November 1, nearly half of the COVID-19 cases in the four counties that make up the Boston region have genetic markers that associate the virus with the conference, which is associated with 51,000 cases of events in the region.

The genetic marker began to appear in other states in early March and was especially prevalent where conference attendees returned home. They included Florida, where 29% of conference-related incidents ended. The same was true for Indiana and North Carolina. Strains of the virus have also been found far away from Australia and Slovakia.

“It’s amazing to the general public to realize that one event can cause so many downstream infections,” Lemieux said, “these events have been going on since day one. [of the pandemic] — Wuhan Seafood Market, European Ski Resorts, Cruise Ships, Mardi Gras, Weddings in Maine, Sturgis Motorcycle Rally [in South Dakota]””

In fact, the conference may have played a far greater role in the US coronavirus outbreak than other superspreader events, including outbreaks in medical facilities.

For example, scientists also analyzed outbreaks in nursing homes that killed 24 residents. “It was devastating to the patients there,” Remu said, but genetic analysis revealed that the virus did not spread outside the facility.

Similarly, after analyzing coronavirus samples from patients at Massachusetts General Hospital, scientists concluded that the virus was not infected in the hospital.

In contrast, people attending the Boston Medical Conference “have found that they tend to be younger, healthier, and more traveling, and they have gone to many different places,” Lemieux said. Told. It ultimately explains the greater extent of the conference, and potentially the greater social costs.

This study is of great value, as the Boston case was not unique.

“I don’t think these strains tended to spread more than any other strain,” Lemieux said. “These types of events are likely to occur over and over again, contributing significantly to the spread and spread of SARS-cov2 around the world.”

“The conditions that allow these super-spreading events to occur remain very much with us and will remain with us for a long time,” Lemieux added.

As the holiday season approaches, he said it is important for Americans to be vigilant and not contribute to the further spread of the virus. “Keep social distance, wear masks as much as possible, and avoid indoor gatherings,” he said.