Introduction, Spread and Impact of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Variants BA.1 and BA.2 in Cyprus

Richter, Jan; Koptides, Dana; Tryfonos, Christina; Alexandrou, Denise; Christodoulou, Christina

doi:10.3390/microorganisms10091688

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 63 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In contrast, and as was reported in other countries, this variant had a relatively minor impact on hospitalizations and deaths. This phenomenon has been attributed to high vaccination rates and a general reduction in the susceptible population, despite the ability of the BA.1 virus to evade neutralization, and to Omicron’s potentially lower virulence [ 7 , 34 , 35 , 36 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Omicron-BA.1 Dispersion Rates in Mexico Varied According to the Regional Epidemic Patterns and the Diversity of Local Delta Subvariants

Zárate

Taboada

Rosales-Rivera

et al. 2023

Viruses

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Purpose: The Omicron subvariant BA.1 of SARS-CoV-2 was first detected in November 2021 and quickly spread worldwide, displacing the Delta variant. In this work, a characterization of the spread of this variant in Mexico is presented. Methods: The time to fixation of BA.1, the diversity of Delta sublineages, the population density, and the level of virus circulation during the inter-wave interval were determined to analyze differences in BA.1 spread. Results: BA.1 began spreading during the first week of December 2021 and became dominant in the next three weeks, causing the fourth COVID-19 epidemiological surge in Mexico. Unlike previous variants, BA.1 did not exhibit a geographically distinct circulation pattern. However, a regional difference in the speed of the replacement of the Delta variant was observed. Conclusions: Viral diversity and the relative abundance of the virus in a particular area around the time of the introduction of a new lineage seem to have influenced the spread dynamics, in addition to population density. Nonetheless, if there is a significant difference in the fitness of the variants, or if the time allowed for the competition is sufficiently long, it seems the fitter virus will eventually become dominant, as observed in the eventual dominance of the BA.1.x variant in Mexico.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Omicron-BA.1 Dispersion Rates in Mexico Varied According to the Regional Epidemic Patterns and the Diversity of Local Delta Subvariants

Zárate

Taboada

Rosales-Rivera

et al. 2023

Viruses

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Leveraging wastewater: Validating the national-scale SARS-CoV-2 surveillance system in Cyprus for elevated public health surveillance and enhanced epidemiological insight

Karaolia,

Quattrocchi,

Richter

et al. 2024

Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Regional epidemic dynamics and Delta variant diversity resulted in varying rates of spread of Omicron-BA.1 in Mexico

Zárate

Taboada

Rosales-Rivera

et al. 2022

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Omicron subvariant BA.1 of SARS-CoV-2 was first detected in November 2021 and quickly spread worldwide, displacing the Delta variant. In Mexico, this subvariant began spreading during the first week of December 2021 and became dominant in the next three weeks, causing the fourth COVID-19 epidemiological surge in the country. Unlike previous SARS-CoV-2 variants, BA.1 did not acquire local substitutions nor exhibited a geographically distinct circulation pattern in Mexico. However, a regional difference in the speed of the replacement of the Delta variant was observed, as some northern states showed persistence of Delta lineages well into February 2022. Mexican states were divided into four regions (North, Central North, Central South, and Southeast) based on the lineage circulation before the dominance of BA.1 to study possible causes for this difference. For each region, the time to fixation of BA.1, the diversity of Delta sublineages in the weeks preceding BA.1 entry, the population density, and the level of virus circulation during the inter-wave interval were determined. An association between a faster Omicron spread and lower Delta diversity, as well as fewer COVID-19 cases during the Delta-BA.1.x inter-wave period, was observed. For example, the North region exhibited the slowest spread but had the highest diversity of Delta sublineages and the greatest number of inter-wave cases relative to the maximum amount of the virus circulating in the region, whereas the Southeast region showed the opposite. Viral diversity and the relative abundance of the virus in a particular area around the time of the introduction of a new lineage seem to have influenced the spread dynamics. Nonetheless, if there is a significant difference in the fitness of the variants or the time allowed for the competition is sufficient, it seems the fitter virus will eventually become dominant, as observed in the eventual dominance of the BA.1.x variant in Mexico.

show abstract

Introduction, Spread and Impact of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Variants BA.1 and BA.2 in Cyprus

Cited by 3 publications

References 63 publications

Omicron-BA.1 Dispersion Rates in Mexico Varied According to the Regional Epidemic Patterns and the Diversity of Local Delta Subvariants

Omicron-BA.1 Dispersion Rates in Mexico Varied According to the Regional Epidemic Patterns and the Diversity of Local Delta Subvariants

Leveraging wastewater: Validating the national-scale SARS-CoV-2 surveillance system in Cyprus for elevated public health surveillance and enhanced epidemiological insight

Regional epidemic dynamics and Delta variant diversity resulted in varying rates of spread of Omicron-BA.1 in Mexico

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About