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Rapid Spread of the SARS-CoV-2 Variant of Concern 202012/01 in Southern Italy (December 2020–March 2021)

Epidemiological and virological studies have revealed that SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs) are emerging globally, including in Europe. The aim of this study was to evaluate the spread of B.1.1.7-lineage SARS-CoV-2 in southern Italy from December 2020–March 2021 through the detection of the S g...

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Autores principales: Loconsole, Daniela, Centrone, Francesca, Morcavallo, Caterina, Campanella, Silvia, Sallustio, Anna, Accogli, Marisa, Fortunato, Francesca, Parisi, Antonio, Chironna, Maria
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8125211/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33947087
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18094766
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author Loconsole, Daniela
Centrone, Francesca
Morcavallo, Caterina
Campanella, Silvia
Sallustio, Anna
Accogli, Marisa
Fortunato, Francesca
Parisi, Antonio
Chironna, Maria
author_facet Loconsole, Daniela
Centrone, Francesca
Morcavallo, Caterina
Campanella, Silvia
Sallustio, Anna
Accogli, Marisa
Fortunato, Francesca
Parisi, Antonio
Chironna, Maria
author_sort Loconsole, Daniela
collection PubMed
description Epidemiological and virological studies have revealed that SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs) are emerging globally, including in Europe. The aim of this study was to evaluate the spread of B.1.1.7-lineage SARS-CoV-2 in southern Italy from December 2020–March 2021 through the detection of the S gene target failure (SGTF), which could be considered a robust proxy of VOC B.1.1.7. SGTF was assessed on 3075 samples from week 52/2020 to week 10/2021. A subset of positive samples identified in the Apulia region during the study period was subjected to whole-genome sequencing (WGS). A descriptive and statistical analysis of the demographic and clinical characteristics of cases according to SGTF status was performed. Overall, 20.2% of samples showed SGTF; 155 strains were confirmed as VOC 202012/01 by WGS. The proportion of SGTF-positive samples rapidly increased over time, reaching 69.2% in week 10/2021. SGTF-positive cases were more likely to be symptomatic and to result in hospitalization (p < 0.0001). Despite the implementation of large-scale non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs), such as the closure of schools and local lockdowns, a rapid spread of VOC 202012/01 was observed in southern Italy. Strengthened NPIs and rapid vaccine deployment, first among priority groups and then among the general population, are crucial both to contain the spread of VOC 202012/01 and to flatten the curve of the third wave.
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spelling pubmed-81252112021-05-17 Rapid Spread of the SARS-CoV-2 Variant of Concern 202012/01 in Southern Italy (December 2020–March 2021) Loconsole, Daniela Centrone, Francesca Morcavallo, Caterina Campanella, Silvia Sallustio, Anna Accogli, Marisa Fortunato, Francesca Parisi, Antonio Chironna, Maria Int J Environ Res Public Health Article Epidemiological and virological studies have revealed that SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs) are emerging globally, including in Europe. The aim of this study was to evaluate the spread of B.1.1.7-lineage SARS-CoV-2 in southern Italy from December 2020–March 2021 through the detection of the S gene target failure (SGTF), which could be considered a robust proxy of VOC B.1.1.7. SGTF was assessed on 3075 samples from week 52/2020 to week 10/2021. A subset of positive samples identified in the Apulia region during the study period was subjected to whole-genome sequencing (WGS). A descriptive and statistical analysis of the demographic and clinical characteristics of cases according to SGTF status was performed. Overall, 20.2% of samples showed SGTF; 155 strains were confirmed as VOC 202012/01 by WGS. The proportion of SGTF-positive samples rapidly increased over time, reaching 69.2% in week 10/2021. SGTF-positive cases were more likely to be symptomatic and to result in hospitalization (p < 0.0001). Despite the implementation of large-scale non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs), such as the closure of schools and local lockdowns, a rapid spread of VOC 202012/01 was observed in southern Italy. Strengthened NPIs and rapid vaccine deployment, first among priority groups and then among the general population, are crucial both to contain the spread of VOC 202012/01 and to flatten the curve of the third wave. MDPI 2021-04-29 /pmc/articles/PMC8125211/ /pubmed/33947087 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18094766 Text en © 2021 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Loconsole, Daniela
Centrone, Francesca
Morcavallo, Caterina
Campanella, Silvia
Sallustio, Anna
Accogli, Marisa
Fortunato, Francesca
Parisi, Antonio
Chironna, Maria
Rapid Spread of the SARS-CoV-2 Variant of Concern 202012/01 in Southern Italy (December 2020–March 2021)
title Rapid Spread of the SARS-CoV-2 Variant of Concern 202012/01 in Southern Italy (December 2020–March 2021)
title_full Rapid Spread of the SARS-CoV-2 Variant of Concern 202012/01 in Southern Italy (December 2020–March 2021)
title_fullStr Rapid Spread of the SARS-CoV-2 Variant of Concern 202012/01 in Southern Italy (December 2020–March 2021)
title_full_unstemmed Rapid Spread of the SARS-CoV-2 Variant of Concern 202012/01 in Southern Italy (December 2020–March 2021)
title_short Rapid Spread of the SARS-CoV-2 Variant of Concern 202012/01 in Southern Italy (December 2020–March 2021)
title_sort rapid spread of the sars-cov-2 variant of concern 202012/01 in southern italy (december 2020–march 2021)
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8125211/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33947087
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18094766
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