tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Virus Genes
. 2025 Feb 10.
doi: 10.1007/s11262-025-02137-3. Online ahead of print. Genomic and epidemiological surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 variants during the pre-mass vaccination period in Botucatu, Brazil
Felipe Allan da Silva da Costa[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Patricia Akemi Assato[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Karen Ingrid Tasca[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Leonardo Nazário de Moraes[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Drielle Baptista Dos Santos Figueiredo[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Gabriela Ribeiro[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Alex Ranieri Jerônimo Lima[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Sandra Coccuzzo Sampaio[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Maria Carolina Quartim Barbosa Elias Sabbaga[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Carlos Magno Castelo Branco Fortaleza[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Jayme Augusto de Souza-Neto[SUP] 6 7 [/SUP], Rejane Maria Tommasini Grotto[SUP] 8 9 [/SUP]
Affiliations
The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused an unprecedented pandemic in human history. To date, more than 6.5 million lives have been lost to COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019). Following widespread efforts for COVID-19 vaccination in Brazil, there has been a drastic reduction in COVID-19 deaths, which was particularly evident in the city of Botucatu, SP, Brazil, after a campaign to a mass vaccination. Our objective was to assess the temporal and epidemiological spread of variants of concern (VOC) of SARS-CoV-2 in the four weeks preceding the massive vaccination campaign in the municipality. After randomizing 400 samples, Next-Generation Sequencing was used to produce sequences and determine the variants. Among high-quality sequences, 98.4% belonged to the VOC Gamma, with P.1 and P.1.14 being the most prevalent lineages. P.1 was more frequent in both men and women, and in younger individuals and adults (0-59 years) compared to P.1.14. There was no correlation between the variants and the presence of comorbidities or between them and moderate to severe clinical cases of COVID-19 or death. However, P.1 was more frequent than P.1.14 in people with mild forms of the disease and in those who exhibited symptoms. In the phylogenetic analyses, a small cluster of 9 P.1.14 samples containing mutations in ORF1a: M584V and A3620V was observed, which had not been found in any Gamma sequences to date. The importance of genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 is evident in assisting public health decision-making and the management of COVID-19 and other diseases.
Keywords: COVID-19 vaccination; Genomic mutation tracking; Genomic surveillance; SARS-CoV-2 variants; Vaccination impact.
. 2025 Feb 10.
doi: 10.1007/s11262-025-02137-3. Online ahead of print. Genomic and epidemiological surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 variants during the pre-mass vaccination period in Botucatu, Brazil
Felipe Allan da Silva da Costa[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Patricia Akemi Assato[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Karen Ingrid Tasca[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Leonardo Nazário de Moraes[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Drielle Baptista Dos Santos Figueiredo[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Gabriela Ribeiro[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Alex Ranieri Jerônimo Lima[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Sandra Coccuzzo Sampaio[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Maria Carolina Quartim Barbosa Elias Sabbaga[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Carlos Magno Castelo Branco Fortaleza[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Jayme Augusto de Souza-Neto[SUP] 6 7 [/SUP], Rejane Maria Tommasini Grotto[SUP] 8 9 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 39928246
- DOI: 10.1007/s11262-025-02137-3
The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused an unprecedented pandemic in human history. To date, more than 6.5 million lives have been lost to COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019). Following widespread efforts for COVID-19 vaccination in Brazil, there has been a drastic reduction in COVID-19 deaths, which was particularly evident in the city of Botucatu, SP, Brazil, after a campaign to a mass vaccination. Our objective was to assess the temporal and epidemiological spread of variants of concern (VOC) of SARS-CoV-2 in the four weeks preceding the massive vaccination campaign in the municipality. After randomizing 400 samples, Next-Generation Sequencing was used to produce sequences and determine the variants. Among high-quality sequences, 98.4% belonged to the VOC Gamma, with P.1 and P.1.14 being the most prevalent lineages. P.1 was more frequent in both men and women, and in younger individuals and adults (0-59 years) compared to P.1.14. There was no correlation between the variants and the presence of comorbidities or between them and moderate to severe clinical cases of COVID-19 or death. However, P.1 was more frequent than P.1.14 in people with mild forms of the disease and in those who exhibited symptoms. In the phylogenetic analyses, a small cluster of 9 P.1.14 samples containing mutations in ORF1a: M584V and A3620V was observed, which had not been found in any Gamma sequences to date. The importance of genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 is evident in assisting public health decision-making and the management of COVID-19 and other diseases.
Keywords: COVID-19 vaccination; Genomic mutation tracking; Genomic surveillance; SARS-CoV-2 variants; Vaccination impact.