tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
J Med Virol
. 2021 Jul 13.
doi: 10.1002/jmv.27196. Online ahead of print.
The variants question: what is the problem?
Davide Zella[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Marta Giovanetti[SUP] 2 3 [/SUP], Francesca Benedetti[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Francesco Unali[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Silvia Spoto[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Michele Guarino[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Silvia Angeletti[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Massimo Ciccozzi[SUP] 8 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) originated in Wuhan, China in early December 2019 has rapidly widespread worldwide. Over the course of the pandemic, due to the advance of whole genome sequencing technologies, an unprecedent number of genomes have been generated, providing both invaluable insights into the ongoing evolution and epidemiology of the virus and allowing the identification of hundreds of circulating genetic variants during the pandemic. In recent months variants of SARS-CoV-2 that have an increased number of mutations on the Spike protein have brought concern all over the world. These have been called 'variants of concern' (VOCs), and/or "variants of interest" (VOIs) as it has been suggested that their genome mutations might impact transmission, immune control, and virulence. Tracking the spread of emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants is crucial to inform public health efforts and control the ongoing pandemic. In this review, a concise characterization of the SARS-CoV-2 mutational patterns of the main VOCs and VOIs circulating and co-circulating worldwide has been presented in order to determine the magnitude of the SARS-CoV-2 threat to better understand the virus genetic diversity and its potential impact in vaccination strategy. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; VOCs; VOIs; intervention strategies; pandemic; vaccine.
. 2021 Jul 13.
doi: 10.1002/jmv.27196. Online ahead of print.
The variants question: what is the problem?
Davide Zella[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Marta Giovanetti[SUP] 2 3 [/SUP], Francesca Benedetti[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Francesco Unali[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Silvia Spoto[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Michele Guarino[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Silvia Angeletti[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Massimo Ciccozzi[SUP] 8 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 34255352
- DOI: 10.1002/jmv.27196
Abstract
The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) originated in Wuhan, China in early December 2019 has rapidly widespread worldwide. Over the course of the pandemic, due to the advance of whole genome sequencing technologies, an unprecedent number of genomes have been generated, providing both invaluable insights into the ongoing evolution and epidemiology of the virus and allowing the identification of hundreds of circulating genetic variants during the pandemic. In recent months variants of SARS-CoV-2 that have an increased number of mutations on the Spike protein have brought concern all over the world. These have been called 'variants of concern' (VOCs), and/or "variants of interest" (VOIs) as it has been suggested that their genome mutations might impact transmission, immune control, and virulence. Tracking the spread of emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants is crucial to inform public health efforts and control the ongoing pandemic. In this review, a concise characterization of the SARS-CoV-2 mutational patterns of the main VOCs and VOIs circulating and co-circulating worldwide has been presented in order to determine the magnitude of the SARS-CoV-2 threat to better understand the virus genetic diversity and its potential impact in vaccination strategy. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; VOCs; VOIs; intervention strategies; pandemic; vaccine.