SARS-CoV-2 Variants: Swedish Researchers Warn Next Few Continuous SARS-CoV-2 Onslaughts Will Be Driven By Groups of Sub-Lineages Sharing A Phenotype!
SARS-CoV-2 Variants: Researchers from Public Health Agency of Sweden, Solna-Sweden, the Lund University, Lund-Sweden, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm-Sweden and the Swedish Armed Forces, Umeå-Sweden are warning that the next few continuous SARS-CoV-2 onslaughts will be driven by groups of sub-lineages sharing a phenotype rather than by one specific sub-lineage.
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For instance, at present, the study team found that the present global COVID-19 onslaught is being driven by a variety of
SARS-CoV-2 Variants and sub-lineages with the spike R346T mutation!
As Thailand Medical News had covered in the past, there will be no longer be periodic surges or even seasonal surges as claimed by some ignorant individuals, with one or two particular
SARS-CoV-2 variants leading them but rather due to the sudden rapid evolutionary and mutability of the Omicron lineages, where we have more than 500 sub-variants and sub-lineages now in circulation, the global population will be faced with an constant onslaught by these new variants, with many quickly displacing each other in a matter of weeks and in reality, no country will face any respites though governments and media will conceal the COVID-19 statistics.
https://cov-spectrum.org/collections/24
https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/sars-cov-2-variant-soup-means-no-more-waves-or-surges-but-rather-constant-onslaught-and-reinfections-china-reports-record-covid-19-infections
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.12.11.22283310v1
The study team said that though vaccinations and SARS-CoV-2 infections have resulted in a high level of antibody-positive individuals, new SARS-CoV-2 omicron variants and sub-lineages continue to spread, including with high infection rates in triple-vaccinated individuals.
https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/122506
In the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, distinct periodic waves of SARS-CoV-2 infections were caused by distinct variants of concern (VOC), each dominating until being replaced by a novel VOC.
However, since the emergence of omicron in late 2021, new subvariants exhibiting increased capacity for immune escape have emerged.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35042229/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35731894/
At present, various BA.2/4/5 sub-lineages circulate in the global population, strongly dominated by BA.5.
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However, Recent sequencing data has revealed the emergence of new circulating omicron variants in e.g. the United Kingdom, with indication of accelerated convergent evolution resulting in shared phenotypes between variants.
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1115070/Technical-Briefing-46-7October2022.pdf
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.09.15.507787v4.abstract
The Swedish researchers say that this marks a possible shift in the transmission landscape; rather than one specific sub-lineage dominating, several distinct subvariants with a specific phenotype may together form a dominating cluster.
Accordingly, one of such important mutations is R346X, in particular R346T, situated in the receptor binding domain (RBD) of the spike protein, with an enhanced capacity to escape neutralizing antibodies.
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.09.15.507787v4.abstract
It should be noted that current sequencing data is largely generated from group-specific testing, possibly delaying detection of novel variants and transmission patterns in society.
In order to estimate the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection and to identify variants causing them, the study team invited individuals being part of a Swedish nationwide probability-based web panel to participate in a survey taking place September 26
th –29
th, 2022.
All study participants (n = 1774) received material for self-sampling of upper respiratory tract for PCR-analysis for presence of SARS-CoV-2 and of blood for serological analysis.
In all, a total, 1524 of 1554 participants were positive for anti-spike IgG.
Ongoing SARS-CoV-2-infection was detected in 31 out of 1687 participants, resulting in an age-, sex- and region-adjusted estimated overall point-prevalence of 1·5% (95% CI: 0·9–2·5%).
Of the 31 positive samples, 30 were successfully sequenced.
Importantly, a total of 13 different omicron sub-lineages were identified, among which BA.5.2 (n = 7) and BF.7 (n = 7) were the most common ones.
Significantly, 40% of infections were caused by R346X-mutated variants represented by six different sub-lineages.
Interestingly, five of these sub-lineages showed an identical pattern of RBD mutations.
The study team concluded that the study findings show a rapid emergence of several R346T expressing sub-lineages with identical or very similar RBD, indicating that the next and future onslaughts of SARS-CoV-2 infections may be caused by a group of sub-lineages sharing a phenotype, rather than by one specific sub-lineage.
The study findings were published as a correspondence in the peer reviewed journal: The Lancet Regional Health -Europe.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanepe/article/PIIS2666-7762(22)00260-5/fulltext
For more on the latest
SARS-CoV-2 Variants, keep on logging to Thailand Medical News.
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