Carnegie, L.McCrone, J. T.du Plessis, L.Hasan, M.Ali, M.Z.Begum, R.Hassan, M.Z.Islam, S.Rahman, M.H.Uddin, A.S.M.Sarker, M.S.Das, T.Hossain, M.Khan, M.Razu, M.H.Akram, A.Arina, S.Hoque, E.Molla, M.M.A.Nafisaa, T.Angra, P.Rambaut, A.Pullan, S.T.Osman, K.L.Hoque, M.A.Biswas, P.Flora, M.S.Raghwani, J.Fournié, G.Samad, M.A.Hill, S.C.2024-11-182024-11-182024-11-13Virology Journal. 2024 Nov 13;21(1):291https://hdl.handle.net/10919/123624Background: Genomic epidemiology has helped reconstruct the global and regional movement of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). However, there is still a lack of understanding of SARS-CoV-2 spread in some of the world’s least developed countries (LDCs). Methods: To begin to address this disparity, we studied the transmission dynamics of the virus in Bangladesh during the country’s first COVID-19 wave by analysing case reports and whole-genome sequences from all eight divisions of the country. Results: We detected > 50 virus introductions to the country during the period, including during a period of national lockdown. Additionally, through discrete phylogeographic analyses, we identified that geographical distance and population -density and/or -size influenced virus spatial dispersal in Bangladesh. Conclusions: Overall, this study expands our knowledge of SARS-CoV-2 genomic epidemiology in Bangladesh, shedding light on crucial transmission characteristics within the country, while also acknowledging resemblances and differences to patterns observed in other nations.application/pdfenCreative Commons Attribution 4.0 InternationalArticle - Refereed2024-11-17The Author(s)https://doi.org/10.1186/s12985-024-02560-2