Mutational dynamics and transmission properties of SARS CoV 2 superspreading events in Austria
Superspreading events shape the COVID 19 pandemic. Here we provide a national scale analysis of SARS CoV 2 outbreaks in Austria, a country that played a major role for virus transmission across Europe and beyond. Capitalizing on a national epidemiological surveillance system, we performed deep whole genome sequencing of virus isolates from 576 samples to cover major Austrian SARS CoV 2 clusters. Our data chart a map of early viral spreading in Europe, including the path from low frequency mutations to fixation. Detailed epidemiological surveys enabled us to calculate the effective SARS CoV 2 population bottlenecks during transmission and unveil time resolved intra patient viral quasispecies dynamics. This study demonstrates the power of integrating deep viral genome sequencing and epidemiological data to better understand how SARS CoV 2 spreads through populations. Graphical Abstract