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ABSTRACT

Background:

COVID-19, caused by SARS-CoV-2, is one of the deadliest pandemics over the last 100 years. Sequencing is playing an important role in monitoring the evolution of the virus, including the detection of new viral variants. This study describes the genomic epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 infections in The Gambia.

Methods:

Nasopharyngeal and/or oropharyngeal swabs collected from suspected cases and travellers were tested for SARS-CoV-2 using standard RT-PCR methods. SARS-CoV-2 positive samples were sequenced following standard library preparation and sequencing protocols. Bioinformatic analysis was done using ARTIC pipelines and lineages assigned using Pangolin.

Findings:

Between March 2020 to January 2022, there were almost 12,000 SARS-CoV-2 confirmed cases distributed into four waves, each of them lasting between 4 weeks and 4 months, with more cases during the rainy seasons (July- October). As shown by the 1643 sequenced samples, each wave occurred after new viral variants and/or lineages were introduced in The Gambia, generally those already established in Europe and/or in other African countries. Local transmission was higher during the first and third wave, with mostly B.1.416/Senegal/Gambian lineage and AY.34.1/Delta subtype, respectively. The second wave was driven by two variants, namely Alpha and Eta and B.1.1.420 lineage. The Omicron/fourth wave was the shortest.

Interpretation:

Efficient surveillance, including strengthening entry points and screening asymptomatic individuals especially during the rainy seasons would be important to promptly detect and control future waves in The Gambia and the subregion.
Subject(s)

Full text: Available Collection: Preprints Database: medRxiv Main subject: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome / COVID-19 Language: English Year: 2022 Document Type: Preprint

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Full text: Available Collection: Preprints Database: medRxiv Main subject: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome / COVID-19 Language: English Year: 2022 Document Type: Preprint