Global Distribution, Dispersal Patterns, and Trend of Several Omicron Subvariants of SARS-CoV-2 across the Globe

SIMPLE SUMMARY: SARS-CoV-2 is characterized by extensive genetic divergence. The emergence of the variant of concern (VOC) Omicron, due to its characteristics, has caused an increased number of infections globally versus the previous VOCs. The omicron variant has been further divided into subvariants, with the most widely spread to be BA.1*, BA.2*, BA.3*, BA.4*, and BA.5*. Our aim was to analyze the global prevalence and the dispersal patterns of the different subvariants. Data about the proportions of the different variants over time and by geographic region were extracted from the CoV-Spectrum platform searching for BA.1*, BA.2*, BA.3*, BA.4*, and BA.5* variants. We showed that omicron subvariants spread at different time periods due to their biological properties and the characteristics of the pandemic. BA.5*, which caused the most recent pandemic wave globally, has dominated by the middle of August in Europe and elsewhere. Our study provides evidence that the ability of subvariants to dominate depends on their characteristics named transmissibility and immune evasion, given the characteristics of the SARS-CoV-2 immunity in the populations. ABSTRACT: Our study aims to describe the global distribution and dispersal patterns of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron subvariants. Genomic surveillance data were extracted from the CoV-Spectrum platform, searching for BA.1*, BA.2*, BA.3*, BA.4*, and BA.5* variants by geographic region. BA.1* increased in November 2021 in South Africa, with a similar increase across all continents in early December 2021. BA.1* did not reach 100% dominance in all continents. The spread of BA.2*, first described in South Africa, differed greatly by geographic region, in contrast to BA.1*, which followed a similar global expansion, firstly occurring in Asia and subsequently in Africa, Europe, Oceania, and North and South America. BA.4* and BA.5* followed a different pattern, where BA.4* reached high proportions (maximum 60%) only in Africa. BA.5* is currently, by Mid-August 2022, the dominant strain, reaching almost 100% across Europe, which is the first continent aside from Africa to show increasing proportions, and Asia, the Americas, and Oceania are following. The emergence of new variants depends mostly on their selective advantage, translated as enhanced transmissibility and ability to invade people with existing immunity. Describing these patterns is useful for a better understanding of the epidemiology of the VOCs’ transmission and for generating hypotheses about the future of emerging variants.