Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern by identification of single nucleotide polymorphisms in the spike protein by a multiplex real-time PCR.
J Virol Methods
; 300: 114374, 2022 02.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1525874
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Although active surveillance SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs) is required for proper outbreak control measures, many lower income countries find it challenging to detect VOCs by carrying genomic sequencing alone, due to limited resources.METHODS:
VOCs can also be identified by the unique mutations in the spike protein by real-time PCR that detect these single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). We used a multiplex, real-time PCR assay for detection of these SNPs for identification of the prevalence of different SARS-CoV-2 VOCs in 16/26 districts in Sri Lanka.RESULTS:
Of the 664/934 that were subjected to the multiplex qRT-PCR, 638 (96.1 %) detected L452R and K417 in the channels and were identified as the delta variant. 25 samples (3.9 %) detected N501Y, with K417 were considered as the alpha variant. Of 10/16 districts in Sri Lanka, the delta variant was the only VOC detected.CONCLUSIONS:
This multiplex real-time qRT-PCR which identifies certain SNPs specific to the VOCs appears to be a fast, cheaper and less technically demanding method to generate data regarding the spread of different SARS-CoV-2 variants, and is a suitable method for lower income countries, to supplement the data generated by genomic sequencing.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
SARS-CoV-2
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Observational study
Topics:
Variants
Limits:
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
J Virol Methods
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
J.jviromet.2021.114374
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