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Investment in Africa over the past year with regards to SARS-CoV-2 genotyping has led to a massive increase in the number of sequences, exceeding 100,000 genomes generated to track the pandemic on the continent. Our results show an increase in the number of African countries able to sequence within their own borders, coupled with a decrease in sequencing turnaround time. Findings from this genomic surveillance underscores the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic but we observe repeated dissemination of SARS-CoV-2 variants within the continent. Sustained investment for genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve, particularly in the low vaccination landscape. These investments are very crucial for preparedness and response for future pathogen outbreaks. One-Sentence SummaryExpanding Africa SARS-CoV-2 sequencing capacity in a fast evolving pandemic.
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The progression of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in Africa has so far been heterogeneous and the full impact is not yet well understood. Here, we describe the genomic epidemiology using a dataset of 8746 genomes from 33 African countries and two overseas territories. We show that the epidemics in most countries were initiated by importations, predominantly from Europe, which diminished following the early introduction of international travel restrictions. As the pandemic progressed, ongoing transmission in many countries and increasing mobility led to the emergence and spread within the continent of many variants of concern and interest, such as B.1.351, B.1.525, A.23.1 and C.1.1. Although distorted by low sampling numbers and blind-spots, the findings highlight that Africa must not be left behind in the global pandemic response, otherwise it could become a breeding ground for new variants.
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Background: The cytochrome P450 enzymes (CYP) play an important role in the metabolism of many therapeutic agents. The activities of different enzymes exhibit variability in different populations, which causes variations in drug response or toxicity. The CYP2B6 and CYP2C8 enzymes are encoded by polymorphic genes characterised by different single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Several of these CYP variants are often associated with slow metabolism phenotypes. This study aimed to analyse the frequencies of allelic variants of CYP2B6 and CYP2C8 in the Mozambican population. Methods: Using a polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism assay (PCR-RFLP), the frequencies of the allelic variants of CYP2B6 (c.64C>T, c.516G>T, c.777C>A, c.785A>G, c.1459C>T) and CYP2C8 (c.805A>T, c.416G>A, c.1196A>G, c.792C>G) were determined in 360 Mozambican blood donors. Results: The frequencies of the allelic variants of the CYP2B6 gene were 0.057, 0.426, 0.0, 0.410, and 0.004. For the CYP2C8 gene, the frequencies of the allelic variants were 0.160, 0.048, 0.0, and 0.005. No significant differences were observed between the gender and geographic distribution of volunteers around the country. Conclusion: The frequencies of the allelic variants of the CYP2B6 and CYP2C8 genes were found to be homogeneously distributed in the Mozambican population and were comparable to other African populations. Further studies are required to explore the impact of these variants on the clinical response (efficacy and toxicity) of drugs, including antimalarials.
Assuntos
Frequência do Gene , Citocromo P-450 CYP2B6 , Citocromo P-450 CYP2C8 , Polimorfismo GenéticoRESUMO
O trabalho demonstra todo o esforço realizado pela Diretoria de Saúde da Marinha no atendimento às vítimas de Goiânia, com opçäo inicial pela importaçäo imediata do produto "Radiogardase" (Azul da Prússia) e em seguida pelo desenvolvimento de estudos visando tecnologia apropriada para produçäo do fármaco em nosso meio. Relata todos os meios e recursos colocados à disposiçäo dos farmacêuticos militares lotados no Hospital Central da Marinha, até a obtençäo final do produto, o qual sob a forma de pasta, obteve laudo do Instituto de Radioproteçäo e Dosimetria acusando o êxito das pesquisas. Finalizando, o artigo enumera os fatores indispensáveis a industrializaçäo em nível nacional