Determining international spread of novel B.1.1.523 SARS-CoV-2 lineage

Abstract

Here we report the emergence of variant lineage B.1.1.523 that contains a set of mutations including 156_158del, E484K and S494P in Spike protein. E484K and S494P are known to significantly reduce SARS-CoV-2 neutralization by convalescent and vaccinee sera and are considered as mutations of concern. Lineage B.1.1.523 has presumably originated in Russian Federation and spread across European countries with the peak of transmission in April – May 2021. The B.1.1.523 lineage has now been reported from 27 countries.

SARS-CoV-2: Two Years in the Pandemic: What Have We Observed from Genome Sequencing Results in Lithuania?

“…A sizeable number of virus lineages has been identified a few times but has disappeared over time. Dominating VOC's had a significant effect in reducing the diversity of the common COVID-19 viral lineages, but even lineages with more dangerous properties have disappeared without recovery, for example, the B.1.1.523 SARS-CoV-2 variant containing multiple S protein mutations associated with immune escape [31] or B.1.62 [32]. Meanwhile, the spread of viral lineages without altered biological characteristics has been observed more than once, possibly due to uncontrolled outbreaks.…”