Impact of the first superspreading outbreak of COVID-19 related to a nightlife establishment in Andalusia, Spain

INTRODUCTION AND AIM OF THE STUDY: A notable proportion of COVID outbreaks are generated by “super-spreading events”, where a few subjects transmit the pathogen to many secondary cases, increasing contact networks and the spread of the pathogen. We conducted a description of a COVID-19 superspreading event in Córdoba during July 2020, linked to a nightlife establishment. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Retrospective observational study describing characteristics of person, time, PCR result and contact network of confirmed cases. PCR results in Córdoba during July and August and information collected in surveillance systems were analyzed. RESULTS: 935 individuals associated with the outbreak were included; 120 (12.83%) became confirmed cases. July 17 was the day with the highest incidence, with 27 new cases (22.5% of the total). People under 25 years old represented 69.2% of the cases. The average number of close contacts per person was 10.7, with a decrease as age raised. During the outbreak, incidence increased at the provincial level compared to previous weeks; at the end, incidence did not return to initial values but remained high with a relevant percentage of cases having unknown epidemiological association. CONCLUSIONS: A greater transmission capacity of SARS-CoV-2 was observed in a closed, crowded space, and among young people that tended to report a greater number of social contacts and may present little or no symptoms. Developing preventive measures in scenarios that combine these factors and early detection of cases are essential to avoid an increase in the spread of the virus.