ABSTRACT
With numbers of COVID-19 cases having substantially increased at the end of 2022 in China, some countries have started or expanded testing and genomic surveillance of travellers. We report screening results in Italy in late December 2022 of 556 flight passengers in provenance from two Chinese provinces. Among these passengers, 126 (22.7%) tested SARS-CoV-2 positive. Whole genome sequencing of 61 passengers' positive samples revealed Omicron variants, notably sub-lineages BA.5.2.48, BF.7.14 and BQ.1.1, in line with data released from China.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , SARS-CoV-2 , Humans , SARS-CoV-2/genetics , COVID-19/epidemiology , Genomics , China/epidemiology , Italy/epidemiologyABSTRACT
The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is ongoing worldwide, causing prolonged pressure on molecular diagnostics. Viral antigen (Ag) assays have several advantages, ranging from lower cost to shorter turnaround time to detection. Given the rare occurrence of low-load viremia, antigen assays for SARSCoV-2 have focused on nasopharyngeal swab and saliva as biological matrices, but their effectiveness must be validated. We assayed here the performances of the novel quantitative Liaison® SARSCoV-2 Ag assay on 119 nasopharyngeal swabs and obtained results were compared with Hologic Panther and Abbott m2000 RT-qPCR. The Ag assay demonstrated a good correlation with viral load, shorter turnaround time, and favorable economics. The best performance was obtained in the acute phase of disease.
ABSTRACT
The Delta variant of concern (VOC) of SARS-CoV-2 has become dominant worldwide. In this article, we report a cluster caused by B.1.617.2 harboring the additional mutation of concern (MOC) F490S. We observed that 5 fully vaccinated subjects aged between 47 and 84 years were infected with this variant. The immune escape mutation F490S, first identified in the Lambda VOI, appears to impair vaccine efficacy and is rapidly increasing in prevalence worldwide.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , SARS-CoV-2 , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , COVID-19/epidemiology , COVID-19 Vaccines , Humans , Middle Aged , Mutation , SARS-CoV-2/geneticsABSTRACT
The Delta variant of concern of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 is dominant worldwide. We report a case cluster caused by Delta sublineage B.1.617.2 harboring the mutation E484K in Italy during July 11-July 29, 2021. This mutation appears to affect immune response and vaccine efficacy; monitoring its appearance is urgent.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , SARS-CoV-2 , Humans , Italy/epidemiology , MutationSubject(s)
COVID-19/pathology , SARS-CoV-2 , Thyroiditis, Autoimmune/pathology , Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized/immunology , Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized/pharmacology , Female , Genome, Viral/genetics , Humans , Italy , Middle Aged , Peru , SARS-CoV-2/drug effects , SARS-CoV-2/genetics , SARS-CoV-2/isolation & purification , Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome/pathology , Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome/virology , World Health OrganizationABSTRACT
We report an imported case of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variant P.1 detected in an asymptomatic traveler who arrived in Italy on an indirect flight from Brazil. This case shows the risk for introduction of SARS-CoV-2 variants from indirect flights and the need for continued SARS-CoV-2 surveillance.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Communicable Diseases, Imported , Diagnostic Screening Programs , SARS-CoV-2 , Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus/genetics , Adult , Brazil/epidemiology , COVID-19/diagnosis , COVID-19/epidemiology , COVID-19/immunology , COVID-19/virology , COVID-19 Serological Testing/methods , Carrier State/diagnosis , Carrier State/epidemiology , Communicable Diseases, Imported/diagnosis , Communicable Diseases, Imported/epidemiology , Communicable Diseases, Imported/virology , Diagnostic Screening Programs/organization & administration , Diagnostic Screening Programs/standards , Humans , Italy/epidemiology , Male , Mutation , SARS-CoV-2/genetics , SARS-CoV-2/isolation & purification , Travel/statistics & numerical data , Travel-Related IllnessABSTRACT
We report here an imported case of SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern B.1.1.351 (also known as 20H/501Y.V2 or "South African variant" or VOC 202012/02) in a 66-years old symptomatic male who returned from Malawi to Italy.