Cost-Effective Method to Perform SARS-CoV-2 Variant Surveillance: Detection of Alpha, Gamma, Lambda, Delta, Epsilon, and Zeta in Argentina.

ABSTRACT: SARS-CoV-2 variants with concerning characteristics have emerged since the end of 2020. Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 variants was performed on a total of 4,851 samples from the capital city and 10 provinces of Argentina, during 51 epidemiological weeks (EWs) that covered the end of the first wave and the ongoing second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country (EW 44/2020 to EW 41/2021). The surveillance strategy was mainly based on Sanger sequencing of a Spike coding region that allows the identification of signature mutations associated with variants. In addition, whole-genome sequences were obtained from 637 samples. The main variants found were Gamma and Lambda, and to a lesser extent, Alpha, Zeta, and Epsilon, and more recently, Delta. Whereas, Gamma dominated in different regions of

SUBMITTER: Torres C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8703000 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature