Omicron BA.2 lineage spreads in clusters and is concentrated in Denmark

Desingu, Perumal Arumugam; Nagarajan, K.

doi:10.1002/jmv.27659

Cited by 41 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Finally, we observed the BA.2-specific ORF3a:H78Y mutation ( Supplementary Table 6 ), found primarily in Denmark 8 , in around 40% (172/425) of BA.2 cases classified by WGS ( Fig. S3a ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 80%

Monitoring of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.1/BA.2 variant transition in the Swedish population reveals higher viral quantity in BA.2 cases

Lentini

Pereira²,

Winqvist³

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Throughout the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, multiple waves of variants of concern have swept across populations, leading to a chain of new and yet more contagious lineages dominating COVID-19 cases. Here, we tracked the remarkably rapid shift from Omicron BA.1 to BA.2 sub-variant dominance in the Swedish population during January-March 2022. By analysis of 174,933 clinical nasopharyngeal swab samples using a custom variant-typing RT-PCR assay, we uncover nearly two-fold higher levels of viral RNA in cases with Omicron BA.2. Importantly, increased viral load in the upper pharynx upon BA.2 infection may provide part of the explanation why Omicron BA.2 is more transmissible and currently outcompetes the BA.1 variant across populations.

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“…Finally, we observed the BA.2-specific ORF3a:H78Y mutation ( Supplementary Table 6 ), found primarily in Denmark 8 , in around 40% (172/425) of BA.2 cases classified by WGS ( Fig. S3a ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 80%

Monitoring of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.1/BA.2 variant transition in the Swedish population reveals higher viral quantity in BA.2 cases

Lentini

Pereira²,

Winqvist³

et al. 2022

Preprint

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“…The third wave of infections in England due to Omicron was initially driven by BA.1, but by 10 January 2022, 53 sequences of the Omicron sublineage BA.2 had been identified in the UK 29 . BA.2 is widespread globally and has been phylogenetically divided into five groups 30 . A risk assessment for BA.2 published by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) on 23 February 2022 reported, with high confidence, that BA.2 had a growth rate advantage compared to BA.1 31 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The third wave of infections in England due to Omicron was initially driven by BA.1, but by 10 January 2022, 53 sequences of the Omicron sublineage BA.2 had been identified in the UK 29 . BA.2 is widespread globally and has been phylogenetically divided into five groups 30 UKHSA has reported, with moderate confidence, that the transmissibility of BA.2 rather than its immune evasion were driving its growth rate advantage. This is supported by subsequent antigenic characterisation indicating that the BA.1 and BA.2 sublineages are antigenically equidistant from wildtype SARS-CoV-2 32 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Omicron SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in England during February 2022

Chadeau‐Hyam

Tang

Eales

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Background: The third wave of COVID-19 in England peaked in January 2022 resulting from the rapid transmission of the Omicron variant. However, rates of hospitalisations and deaths were substantially lower than in the first and second waves Methods: In the REal-time Assessment of Community Transmission-1 (REACT-1) study we obtained data from a random sample of 94,950 participants with valid throat and nose swab results by RT-PCR during round 18 (8 February to 1 March 2022). Findings: We estimated a weighted mean SARS-CoV-2 prevalence of 2.88% (95% credible interval [CrI] 2.76-3.00), with a within-round reproduction number (R) overall of 0.94 (0.91-0.96). While within-round weighted prevalence fell among children (aged 5 to 17 years) and adults aged 18 to 54 years, we observed a level or increasing weighted prevalence among those aged 55 years and older with an R of 1.04 (1.00-1.09). Among 1,195 positive samples with sublineages determined, only one (0.1% [0.0-0.5]) corresponded to AY.39 Delta sublineage and the remainder were Omicron: N=390, 32.7% (30.0-35.4) were BA.1; N=473, 39.6% (36.8-42.5) were BA.1.1; and N=331, 27.7% (25.2-30.4) were BA.2. We estimated an R additive advantage for BA.2 (vs BA.1 or BA.1.1) of 0.40 (0.36-0.43). The highest proportion of BA.2 among positives was found in London. Interpretation: In February 2022, infection prevalence in England remained high with level or increasing rates of infection in older people and an uptick in hospitalisations. Ongoing surveillance of both survey and hospitalisations data is required. Funding: Department of Health and Social Care, England.

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“…2 B) and it is antigenically distinct, making it a very different virus than BA.1 [ 67 , 68 ]. There are at least five genetic subgroups of BA.2 that have arisen in different geographical areas, suggesting continued antigenic drift within this subvariant [ 111 ].…”

Section: Evolution Of Sars-cov-2 In Humans—variants Of Concernmentioning

confidence: 99%

Passive Immunotherapy Against SARS-CoV-2: From Plasma-Based Therapy to Single Potent Antibodies in the Race to Stay Ahead of the Variants

Strohl

et al. 2022

BioDrugs

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The COVID-19 pandemic is now approaching 2 years old, with more than 440 million people infected and nearly six million dead worldwide, making it the most significant pandemic since the 1918 influenza pandemic. The severity and significance of SARS-CoV-2 was recognized immediately upon discovery, leading to innumerable companies and institutes designing and generating vaccines and therapeutic antibodies literally as soon as recombinant SARS-CoV-2 spike protein sequence was available. Within months of the pandemic start, several antibodies had been generated, tested, and moved into clinical trials, including Eli Lilly’s bamlanivimab and etesevimab, Regeneron’s mixture of imdevimab and casirivimab, Vir’s sotrovimab, Celltrion’s regdanvimab, and Lilly’s bebtelovimab. These antibodies all have now received at least Emergency Use Authorizations (EUAs) and some have received full approval in select countries. To date, more than three dozen antibodies or antibody combinations have been forwarded into clinical trials. These antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 all target the receptor-binding domain (RBD), with some blocking the ability of the RBD to bind human ACE2, while others bind core regions of the RBD to modulate spike stability or ability to fuse to host cell membranes. While these antibodies were being discovered and developed, new variants of SARS-CoV-2 have cropped up in real time, altering the antibody landscape on a moving basis. Over the past year, the search has widened to find antibodies capable of neutralizing the wide array of variants that have arisen, including Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Omicron. The recent rise and dominance of the Omicron family of variants, including the rather disparate BA.1 and BA.2 variants, demonstrate the need to continue to find new approaches to neutralize the rapidly evolving SARS-CoV-2 virus. This review highlights both convalescent plasma- and polyclonal antibody-based approaches as well as the top approximately 50 antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, their epitopes, their ability to bind to SARS-CoV-2 variants, and how they are delivered. New approaches to antibody constructs, including single domain antibodies, bispecific antibodies, IgA- and IgM-based antibodies, and modified ACE2-Fc fusion proteins, are also described. Finally, antibodies being developed for palliative care of COVID-19 disease, including the ramifications of cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), are described. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40259-022-00529-7.

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Omicron BA.2 lineage spreads in clusters and is concentrated in Denmark

Cited by 41 publications

References 7 publications

Monitoring of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.1/BA.2 variant transition in the Swedish population reveals higher viral quantity in BA.2 cases

Monitoring of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.1/BA.2 variant transition in the Swedish population reveals higher viral quantity in BA.2 cases

The Omicron SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in England during February 2022

Passive Immunotherapy Against SARS-CoV-2: From Plasma-Based Therapy to Single Potent Antibodies in the Race to Stay Ahead of the Variants

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