Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

August 15, 2022

16/08/2022

Scripps Research scientists identify how SARS-CoV-2 spreads in the Middle East Findings highlight biases in viral sampling and urgent need for better global health infrastructure.

August 15, 2022

LA JOLLA, CA Understanding the global transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is critical for rapidly containing and handling the virus, especially as new variants and mutations of concern emerge. Certain regions in the world, including the Middle East and Northern Africa region, have been notoriously understudied and under-sampled. For the first time, Scripps Research scientists and collaborators unveil how the virus spreads in this region to better understand the unique ways that infectious disease threats arise and evolve in the Middle East.

The findings, published on August 15, 2022, in Nature Communications, showed that the strong regional connectivity of the Middle East drove both introduction risk and export risk of the virus events that mainly stemmed from land-based travel while air travel restrictions were in place. The discoveries highlight the importance of improved pandemic surveillance infrastructure across the entire globe, especially given that transmission dynamics have been obscured by uneven sampling.

Before the study, it wasn't entirely clear what was driving transmission dynamics in the Middle East, or how these relationships were changing over time in response to measures such as border closures and lockdowns, says Kristian Andersen, PhD, a co- author of the study and a professor in the Department of Immunology and Microbiology at Scripps Research. Our findings illuminate these drivers, and more importantly, the policies that will be helpful in mitigating the virus in this specific part of the world.

The study focused on Jordan, due to its central geography and tight sociopolitical, cultural and economic ties with other countries in the Middle East. From March to September 2020, Jordan banned all non-essential air travel in an effort to mitigate the viral spread, while also implementing a two-week-long quarantine for those who did enter the country.

Working hand-in-hand with Issa Abu-Dayyeh, PhD, senior author of the study and head of immunology and research at Biolab Diagnostic Laboratories in Jordan, the researchers integrated genomic, epidemiological and travel data to reveal the key drivers of SARS-CoV-2 transmission from March 2020 to May 2021. They found that regional connectivity was a considerable driver of viral transmission, given that 85% of incoming air passengers from March to early September 2020 were from other countries in the Middle East.

Land-based travel was also a big culprit for introducing new strains of the virus into the country, especially from freight transport. While private land-based travel was limited, incoming truck volume recovered to pre-pandemic levels from July 2020 onwards suggesting this is where viral introduction stemmed from. Similarly, they also discovered that land travel drove Jordan's exportation of the virus to other surrounding countries.

However, once travel restrictions were lifted in September 2020, viral introductions were then attributed mainly to air travel once again, as evidenced by non-Middle Eastern air travel increasing from 15 to 25% of total volume.

Our findings underscore that travel restrictions centered solely around air travel are not enough to effectively curb the virus. Strategies to slow viral spread should also manage risk from land-based travel including commercial transport especially in a region as interconnected as the Middle East, says Abu-Dayyeh.

While the results were largely in line with the researchers' initial hypotheses, the findings did emphasize a stark point: the need for improved surveillance infrastructure across the world, which would help maintain public health efforts and mitigate outbreaks quickly.

Without robust efforts across all major global regions, we all become that much more vulnerable to the spread of the virus, says Edyth Parker, PhD, first author of the study and a postdoctoral associate in the Andersen lab.

Parker notes that with the world being so vulnerably connected as it is today, an equitable surveillance system is necessary to closely monitor and catch new variants as they arise. She urges that maintaining a local testing capacity is critical for following not only the virus, but other public health threats as well.

If a certain area is dependent on another for tracking transmission dynamics, that severely limits how quickly and as a result, how well we can perform our public health efforts, Parker adds.

Through the collaboration, Biolab Diagnostic Laboratories is now independently driving SARS-CoV-2 surveillance in Jordan and the broader Middle East. The researchers will continue examining regional variants and immune dynamics there, as well as continue bolstering their public health response to track additional infectious diseases that pose serious threats to the world.

In addition to Andersen, Abu-Dayyeh and Parker, additional authors of the study, Regional connectivity drove bidirectional transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in the Middle East during travel restrictions, include Catelyn Anderson, Mark Zeller, Refugio Robles-Sikisaka, Alaa Abdel Latif, Karthik Ramesh, Ezra Kurzban, Nathaniel L. Matteson, Laura D. Hughes, Michelle McGraw and Shirlee Wohl of Scripps Research; Ahmad Tibi and Amid Abdelnour of Biolab Diagnostic Laboratories; Jennifer Havens and Joel O. Wertheim of UCSD; Genevi ve Laroche, Mehdi Benlarbi, Ardeshir Ariana and Marceline C t of the University of Ottawa; Alexander Watts and Kamran Khan of Bluedot; Abdalla Awidi of the University of Jordan; Saied A. Jaradat of Jordan University of Science and Technology; Karthik Gangavarapu and Marc A. Suchard of UCLA; Alvin X. Han of University of Amsterdam; and Emily Spencer and Laura Nichols
LINK: https://www.scripps.edu/news-and-events/press-room/2022/20220815-ander...
See more stories from scripps

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026

January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026 Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...

02/05/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Search, Faster Editing, and an AI-Ready Foundation for Modern Media

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

01/05/2026

NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to Integrate Dolby's Full Suite of Premium Picture and Sound Innovations

January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...

01/04/2026

DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION

January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...

17/03/2026

PMVG's TechConnect Goes Virtual for 2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

17/03/2026

Miris unlocks high-fidelity 3D asset streaming at scale

3D streaming infrastructure provider Miris today announced the launch of a public beta for its new 3D asset streaming platform. Miris is building the infrastruc...

17/03/2026

Tedial Powers the Future of Media Operations at NAB Show...

As media organizations face mounting pressure to produce more content, faster, while maximizing value and operational efficiency, Tedial, a leading provider of ...

17/03/2026

Brainstorm transforms productivity and sustainability wit...

Brainstorm, a leading manufacturer of real-time graphics, augmented and virtual production, is launching the newest version of its platform, Brainstorm Suite 7,...

17/03/2026

Limecraft Introduces New Platform Update Adding Greater C...

Limecraft today announces the release of Limecraft 2026.2, the second platform update in its 2026 release cycle. Limecraft is an AI-powered production platform ...

17/03/2026

Pioneering the Next Era of Sports Broadcasting - Broadcas...

Broadcast Solutions, a leading system integrator and provider of innovative solutions for the broadcast and media industry, showcased its latest broadcast and V...

17/03/2026

SES Launches Cash Tender Offer

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT RELATES TO THE DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION THAT QUALIFIED OR MAY HAVE QUALIFIED AS INSIDE INFORMATION WITHIN THE MEANING OF ARTICLE 7(1) OF THE ...

17/03/2026

FCC Announces TV Translator Call Sign Changes

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

17/03/2026

2026 NAB Show Offering Free Show Floor Passes to Creators

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

17/03/2026

QuickLink's Latest StudioEdge Models to Make North American Debut at NAB 202

QuickLink's Latest StudioEdge Models to Make North American Debut at NAB 202 Brie Clayton March 16, 2026 0 Comments The Multi-platform Remote Gues...

17/03/2026

Frankenstein Graded with DaVinci Resolve Studio

Frankenstein Graded with DaVinci Resolve Studio Brie Clayton March 16, 2026 0 Comments Sonnenfeld enhances the controlled interplay between warm and c...

17/03/2026

New Voyavox from Link Electronics with Real-Time Speech-to-Text Captioning to be Featured in NAB Booth #W2910

New Voyavox from Link Electronics with Real-Time Speech-to-Text Captioning to be...

17/03/2026

Berklee City Music Stewards META Fellowship Supporting Massachusetts Music Educators

Berklee City Music Stewards META Fellowship Supporting Massachusetts Music Educa...

17/03/2026

Snap Decisions: How Open Libraries for Accelerated Data Processing Boost A/B Testing for Snapchat

The features on social media apps like Snapchat evolve nearly as fast as what...

17/03/2026

GTC Spotlights NVIDIA RTX PCs and DGX Sparks Running Latest Open Models and AI Agents Locally

The paradigm of consumer computing has revolved around the concept of a personal...

16/03/2026

DAZN to Stream NCAA Men's and Women's Basketball Tourneys Free in Select International Markets

DAZN will allow fans in select international territories to watch the NCAA men&#...

16/03/2026

IDM and Skate Board Association Announce Arena and Training Complex Planned for Big Bear Lake

IDM and The Skate Board Association (SBA) have announced a partnership with Coop...

16/03/2026

NAB 2026: Solid State Logic Introduces ST 2110-to-Dante Converter

Solid State Logic (SSL) will debut the Net I/O ST 2110 Bridge at NAB 2026 (booth C6907), a standalone unit that converts between ST 2110 and Dante audio formats...

16/03/2026

NAB 2026: Marshall Electronics Launches First 4K All-IP Weatherproof NDI Camera

Marshall Electronics (Booth C8339) is introducing its first all-IP 4K POV camera, the CV574-WP, at NAB 2026. The camera carries an IP67 weatherproof rating for ...

16/03/2026

Sony Expands Camera Authenticity Solution to Support Video

Sony Electronics' Camera Verify (beta), a feature of its Camera Authenticity Solution which enables news organizations to share content authenticity informa...

16/03/2026

FloSports and Storied Sports Partner on Women's and College Sports Content

FloSports has announced a partnership with Storied Sports, a content and IP studio founded by former espnW and The Players' Tribune executives, to develop s...

16/03/2026

Montreux Jazz Festival Names Gravity Media as A/V Production Provider

Montreux Jazz Festival has announced a multi-year collaboration with Gravity Media, who will become the Festival's Audio Visual Production Provider followin...

16/03/2026

USSI Global Names Ralph Annunziata Senior Vice President of Operations

USSI Global, a provider of customized network, broadcast and digital signage systems and services, has announced Ralph Annunziata joined the company on Jan. 5 a...

16/03/2026

NAB 2026: Boland Communications to Show New OLED Displays and Video Wall Applications

Boland Communications (booth C3519) will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 in Las Vegas, ...

16/03/2026

ST 2110 On The Go? A Peek Inside BRISK, FOX Sports' Broadcast Remote IP Studio Kit

Built in partnership with Diversified, the system As the sports broadcast indus...

16/03/2026

Amagi Report: FAST Viewership Up 21%, AI Adoption Growing Across Media Operations

Global FAST (Free Ad-supported Streaming TV) viewership grew 21% year-over-year ...

16/03/2026

Behind The Mic: Netflix, NBC Tap Matt Vasgersian to Call MLB and Tony Dungy Is Out at NBC

Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...

16/03/2026

Cloudvocal launch the SonoFlex instrument mic

Promises studio-grade fidelity for the stage Cloudvocal have announced the launch of a new instrument mic designed for professional live performers and engi...

16/03/2026

Kenton reveal the USB Solo Mk2

Popular MIDI/CV converter & interface overhauled Kenton have announced the launch of the USB Solo Mk2, a new and improved version of their compact MIDI to C...

16/03/2026

Sonarworks Spring Sale

Running from 16-29 March 2026 Starting from today (16 March) and running until 29 March 2026, Sonarworks are offering discounts of up to 40% across their ra...

16/03/2026

L3Harris Carries Goddard's Legacy Into a New Era

Dr. Robert H. Goddard and a liquid oxygen-gasoline rocket in the frame from which it was fired on March 16, 1926, at Auburn, Massachusetts. Credit: NASA....

16/03/2026

L3Harris Military GPS Receiver Deliveries Surpass 100,000 Units

Precision-guided munitions shown in production illustrate one of many operational systems benefiting from modernized M-Code GPS, supporting assured positioning,...

16/03/2026

A+E Global Media Signs New Multiyear Deal With Nielsen Covering Audience Measurement and Media Intelligence

NEW YORK - March 16, 2026 - A E Global Media and Nielsen today announced a new,...

16/03/2026

aconnic ramping up delivery of commercial 100-gigabit system

aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, is delivering the first commercial 100-Gigabit systems following successful validation and certification for customer n...

16/03/2026

Spectrum Launches Multiview for March Madness

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

16/03/2026

Ikegami To Spotlight Latest UNICAM 4K-UHD Cameras At 2026 NAB Show

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

16/03/2026

A+E Global Media Signs New Agreement With Nielsen

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

16/03/2026

Shotoku Brings Broadcast-Grade Control to PTZ with New Au...

Shotoku USA, Shotoku Broadcast Systems' North American operation, will unveil significant additions to its platform at NAB 2026. Topping the list is the wor...

16/03/2026

Ikegami to Showcase Latest Generation TV Production Camer...

Ikegami USA will demonstrate the latest additions to its wide range of broadcast-quality cameras, controllers and monitors on Central Hall booth C3819 during th...

16/03/2026

[Updated] Carr Threatens Broadcast Licenses Over Iran War Coverage

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

16/03/2026

ELEMENTS launches GRID at NAB Show 2026

ELEMENTS launches GRID at NAB Show 2026 Brie Clayton March 15, 2026 0 Comments North Hall, Booth N1717 ELEMENTS returns to NAB Show 2026, with an exp...

16/03/2026

Blackmagic Design Cameras Capture Artist Salavat Fidai's Micro Sculptures

Blackmagic Design Cameras Capture Artist Salavat Fidai's Micro Sculptures Brie Clayton March 15, 2026 0 Comments 6K sensor and open gate capabilit...

16/03/2026

DHD to Introduce Latest Generation Broadcast Audio Mixers at NAB 2026, Las Vegas

DHD to Introduce Latest Generation Broadcast Audio Mixers at NAB 2026, Las Vegas Brie Clayton March 15, 2026 0 Comments Hero image: Front of DHD RM1 P...

16/03/2026

VEON Files its 2025 Annual Report on Form 20-F

16 Mar 2026 VEON Files its 2025 Annual Report on Form 20-F Dubai and New York, March 16, 2026 - VEON Ltd. (Nasdaq: VEON), a global digital operator ( VEON'...