The Emerging Concern and Interest SARS-CoV-2 Variants

Janik, Edyta; Niemcewicz, Marcin; Podogrocki, Marcin; Majsterek, Ireneusz; Bijak, Michał

doi:10.3390/pathogens10060633

Cited by 92 publications

(95 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…Thus, the intensive implementation of the proven social and preventives practices such as wearing facemask, handwashing, maintaining physical distancing, and avoiding mass gatherings and crowded places is still very critical. In addition, many new variants of SARS-CoV-2 with increased transmissibility and disease severity have been recently emerged in many countries around the world, which can lead to significant clinical, therapeutic and public health impacts [ 63 – 65 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social distancing and preventive practices of government employees in response to COVID-19 in Ethiopia

et al. 2021

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Public health and social interventions are critical to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Ethiopia has implemented a variety of public health and social measures to control the pandemic. This study aimed to assess social distancing and public health preventive practices of government employees in response to COVID-19. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 1,573 government employees selected from 46 public institutions located in Addis Ababa. Data were collected from 8th to 19th June 2020 using a paper-based self-administered questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS version 23.0. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the data. Binary logistic regression analyses were used to identify factors associated with outcome variables (perceived effectiveness of facemask wearing to prevent coronavirus infection, and COVID-19 testing). Majority of the participants reported facemask wearing (96%), avoiding close contact with people including handshaking (94.8%), consistently followed government recommendations (95.6%), frequent handwashing (94.5%), practiced physical distancing (89.5%), avoided mass gatherings and crowded places (88.1%), restricting movement and travelling (71.8%), and stayed home (35.6%). More than 80% of the participants perceived that consistently wearing a facemask is highly effective in preventing coronavirus infection. Respondents from Oromia perceived less about the effectiveness of wearing facemask in preventing coronavirus infection (adjusted OR = 0.27, 95% CI:0.17–0.45). About 19% of the respondents reported that they had ever tested for COVID-19. Respondents between 40–49 years old (adjusted OR = 0.41, 95% CI:0.22–0.76) and 50–66 years (adjusted OR = 0.43, 95% CI:0.19–0.95) were less likely tested for coronavirus than the younger age groups. Similarly, respondents from Oromia were less likely to test for coronavirus (adjusted OR = 0.26, 95% CI:0.12–0.56) than those from national level. Participants who were sure about the availability of COVID-19 testing were more likely to test for coronavirus. About 57% of the respondents perceived that the policy measures in response to the pandemic were inadequate. The findings showed higher social distancing and preventive practices among the government employees in response to COVID-19. Rules and regulations imposed by the government should be enforced and people should properly apply wearing facemasks, frequent handwashing, social and physical distancing measures as a comprehensive package of COVID-19 prevention and control strategies.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social distancing and preventive practices of government employees in response to COVID-19 in Ethiopia

et al. 2021

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“…Within a few months, this variant became prevalent in the United Kingdom and has since expanded to 114 other nations worldwide [ 25 , 26 ]. This variant has around 17 mutations in the S protein alone, including a crucial nonsynonymous mutation (N501Y) at position 501 in the RBD in which asparagine (N) has been replaced with tyrosine [ 27 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interactions of the Receptor Binding Domain of SARS-CoV-2 Variants with hACE2: Insights from Molecular Docking Analysis and Molecular Dynamic Simulation

Çeli̇k

Yadav

Düzgün

et al. 2021

Biology

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Since the beginning of the coronavirus 19 (COVID-19) pandemic in late 2019, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been evolving through the acquisition of genomic mutations, leading to the emergence of multiple variants of concern (VOCs) and variants of interest (VOIs). Currently, four VOCs (Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Gamma) and seven VOIs (Epsilon, Zeta, Eta, Theta, Iota, Kappa, and Lambda) of SARS-CoV-2 have been identified in worldwide circulation. Here, we investigated the interactions of the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of five SARS-CoV-2 variants with the human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (hACE2) receptor in host cells, to determine the extent of molecular divergence and the impact of mutation, using protein-protein docking and dynamics simulation approaches. Along with the wild-type (WT) SARS-CoV-2, this study included the Brazilian (BR/lineage P.1/Gamma), Indian (IN/lineage B.1.617/Delta), South African (SA/lineage B.1.351/Beta), United Kingdom (UK/lineage B.1.1.7/Alpha), and United States (US/lineage B.1.429/Epsilon) variants. The protein-protein docking and dynamics simulation studies revealed that these point mutations considerably affected the structural behavior of the spike (S) protein compared to the WT, which also affected the binding of RBD with hACE2 at the respective sites. Additional experimental studies are required to determine whether these effects have an influence on drug–S protein binding and its potential therapeutic effect.

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“…By the end of 2020 and the beginning of 2021, several studies reported the emergence of novel SARS-CoV-2 variants of interest (VOIs) and concern (VOCs) with different missense mutations and deletions in the Spike (S) protein that impact viral transmissibility and escape from previous host’s immune responses, among other features [ 1 , 2 ]. In Brazil, the SARS-CoV-2 lineages B.1.1.28 and B.1.1.33 dominated the first epidemic wave [ 3 , 4 ], but were replaced by VOC P.1 (WHO name: Gamma) and P.2 (former VOI Zeta), both descendants of lineage B.1.1.28, by the end of 2020 and beginning of 2021 [ 5 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Emergence and Spread of a B.1.1.28-Derived P.6 Lineage with Q675H and Q677H Spike Mutations in Uruguay

Rego

Salazar

Paz

et al. 2021

Viruses

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Uruguay controlled the viral dissemination during the first nine months of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Unfortunately, towards the end of 2020, the number of daily new cases exponentially increased. Herein, we analyzed the country-wide genetic diversity of SARS-CoV-2 between November 2020 and April 2021. We identified that the most prevalent viral variant during the first epidemic wave in Uruguay (December 2020–February 2021) was a B.1.1.28 sublineage carrying Spike mutations Q675H + Q677H, now designated as P.6, followed by lineages P.2 and P.7. P.6 probably arose around November 2020, in Montevideo, Uruguay’s capital department, and rapidly spread to other departments, with evidence of further local transmission clusters; it also spread sporadically to the USA and Spain. The more efficient dissemination of lineage P.6 with respect to P.2 and P.7 and the presence of mutations (Q675H and Q677H) in the proximity of the key cleavage site at the S1/S2 boundary suggest that P.6 may be more transmissible than other lineages co-circulating in Uruguay. Although P.6 was replaced by the variant of concern (VOC) P.1 as the predominant lineage in Uruguay since April 2021, the monitoring of the concurrent emergence of Q675H + Q677H in VOCs should be of worldwide interest.

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The Emerging Concern and Interest SARS-CoV-2 Variants

Cited by 92 publications

References 60 publications

Social distancing and preventive practices of government employees in response to COVID-19 in Ethiopia

Social distancing and preventive practices of government employees in response to COVID-19 in Ethiopia

Interactions of the Receptor Binding Domain of SARS-CoV-2 Variants with hACE2: Insights from Molecular Docking Analysis and Molecular Dynamic Simulation

Emergence and Spread of a B.1.1.28-Derived P.6 Lineage with Q675H and Q677H Spike Mutations in Uruguay

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