Tracking down the origin and subsequent spread of SARS-CoV-2 lineage B.1.619

Since late 2020, the emergence of variants of concern (VOCs) of SARS-CoV-2 has been of concern to public health, researchers and policymakers. Mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 genome-for which clear evidence is available indicating a significant impact on transmissibility, severity and/or immunity-illustrate the importance of genomic surveillance and monitoring the evolution and geographic spread of novel lineages. Lineage B.1.619 was first detected in Switzerland in January 2021, in international travellers returning from Cameroon. This lineage was subsequently also detected in Rwanda, Belgium, Cameroon, France, and many other countries and is characterised by spike protein amino acid mutations N440K and E484K in the receptor binding domain, which are associated with immune escape and higher infectiousness. In this study, we perform a phylogeographic analysis to track the geographic origin and subsequent dispersal of SARS-CoV-2 lineage B.1.619. We employ a recently developed travel history-aware phylogeographic model, enabling us to incorporate genomic sequences with associated travel information. We estimate that B.1.619 most likely originated in Cameroon, in November 2020. We estimate the influence of the number of air-traffic passengers on the dispersal of B.1.619 but find no significant effect, illustrative of the complex dispersal patterns of SARS-CoV-2 lineages. Finally, we examine the metadata associated with infected Belgian patients and report a wide range of symptoms and medical interventions.

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Publication Details

Journal
Virus Evolution
Published
2025-01-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1093/ve/veaf017
Primary Topic
COVID-19 diagnosis using AI
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Tracking down the origin and subsequent spread of SARS-CoV-2 lineage B.1.619

Emmanuel André, Célestin Godwe, Moïse Henri Moumbeket Yifomnjou, Hanne Valgaeren et al.
Virus Evolution
COVID-19 diagnosis using AI
article

Tracking down the origin and subsequent spread of SARS-CoV-2 lineage B.1.619

Emmanuel André, Célestin Godwe, Moïse Henri Moumbeket Yifomnjou, Hanne Valgaeren, David Bornand, Piet Maes, Emmanuel Guedj, Luc Waumans, Gytis Dudas, Sébastien Bontems, Placide Mbala Kingebeni, Manuel C. Peitsch, Bruno Verhasselt, Veerle Matheeussen, Verity Hill, Martine Peeters, Paul E. Oluniyi, Rémi Dulize, Johan Van Weyenbergh, Keith Durkin, Reto Lienhard, Richard Njouom, Marie L. Landry, Nikolai V. Ivanov, Valentin Coste, Martin Hölzer, Marijke Reynders, Sylvie Behillil, Samuel L. Hong, Nicolas Sierro, Marc A. Suchard, Idowu B. Olawoye, Nena Bollen, Etienne Simon‐Lorière, Martin Maidadi Foudi, Guy Baele, Lize Cuypers, Barney Potter, Simon Dellicour, Mehdi Auberson, Guillaume Bayon-Vicente, Marie-Lise Tritten, Carmen Huber, Christian Tientcha Happi, Ahidjo Ayouba, Kamran Khan, Maxime Berthouzoz, Pauline Duvoisin
article en

Abstract

Since late 2020, the emergence of variants of concern (VOCs) of SARS-CoV-2 has been of concern to public health, researchers and policymakers. Mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 genome-for which clear evidence is available indicating a significant impact on transmissibility, severity and/or immunity-illustrate the importance of genomic surveillance and monitoring the evolution and geographic spread of novel lineages. Lineage B.1.619 was first detected in Switzerland in January 2021, in international travellers returning from Cameroon. This lineage was subsequently also detected in Rwanda, Belgium, Cameroon, France, and many other countries and is characterised by spike protein amino acid mutations N440K and E484K in the receptor binding domain, which are associated with immune escape and higher infectiousness. In this study, we perform a phylogeographic analysis to track the geographic origin and subsequent dispersal of SARS-CoV-2 lineage B.1.619. We employ a recently developed travel history-aware phylogeographic model, enabling us to incorporate genomic sequences with associated travel information. We estimate that B.1.619 most likely originated in Cameroon, in November 2020. We estimate the influence of the number of air-traffic passengers on the dispersal of B.1.619 but find no significant effect, illustrative of the complex dispersal patterns of SARS-CoV-2 lineages. Finally, we examine the metadata associated with infected Belgian patients and report a wide range of symptoms and medical interventions.

Virus EvolutionVol. 11(1)
St. Michael's Hospital (CA), Ministry of Public Health (CD), University of Mons (BE), Université Libre de Bruxelles (BE), Inserm (FR), Institut Pasteur (FR), University of Liège (BE), University of California, Los Angeles (US), Vilnius University (LT), University of Toronto (CA), Université de Montpellier (FR), African Studies Centre (NL), Rega Institute for Medical Research (BE), Robert Koch Institute (DE), Agropolis International (FR), Redeemer's University (NG), Philip Morris International (Switzerland) (CH), Ghent University Hospital (BE), Kinshasa General Hospital (CD), Jessa Hospital (BE), Onze Lieve Vrouwziekenhuis Hospital (BE), Evolutionary Genomics (United States) (US), ADMED (Switzerland) (CH), Laboratoire National de Référence (MA), Centre Pasteur du Cameroun (CM), Infectious Diseases Institute (UG), International Museum of Horology (CH), AZ Sint-Jan (BE), Institut de Biologia Evolutiva (ES), Institut de Recherches Médicales et d’Etudes des Plantes Médicinales (CM), Imelda Hospital (BE), St Michael's Hospital (GB), BlueDot (Canada) (CA), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (FR), UCLouvain (BE), University of Edinburgh (GB), KU Leuven (BE)
European Commission, Fonds De La Recherche Scientifique - FNRS, KU Leuven, Agence Française de Développement, Vlaamse regering
Openalex Percentile: Top 59%
COVID-19 diagnosis using AI
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