TY - JOUR
T1 - Replacement of the Gamma by the Delta variant in Brazil
T2 - impact of lineage displacement on the ongoing pandemic
AU - Giovanetti, Marta
AU - Fonseca, Vagner
AU - Wilkinson, Eduan
AU - Tegally, Houriiyah
AU - San, Emmanuel James
AU - Althaus, Christian L.
AU - Xavier, Joilson
AU - Nanev Slavov, Svetoslav
AU - Viala, Vincent Louis
AU - Ranieri Jerônimo Lima, Alex
AU - Ribeiro, Gabriela
AU - Souza-Neto, Jayme A.
AU - Fukumasu, Heidge
AU - Lehmann Coutinho, Luiz
AU - Venancio Da Cunha, Rivaldo
AU - Freitas, Carla
AU - Campelo De A E Melo, Carlos F.
AU - Navegantes De Araújo, Wildo
AU - Do Carmo Said, Rodrigo Fabiano
AU - Almiron, Maria
AU - De Oliveira, Tulio
AU - Coccuzzo Sampaio, Sandra
AU - Elias, Maria Carolina
AU - Covas, Dimas Tadeu
AU - Holmes, Edward C.
AU - Lourenço, Jose
AU - Kashima, Simone
AU - De Alcantara, Luiz Carlos Junior
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Author(s). Published by Oxford University Press.
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic in Brazil was driven mainly by the spread of Gamma (P.1), a locally emerged variant of concern (VOC) that was first detected in early January 2021. This variant was estimated to be responsible for more than 96 per cent of cases reported between January and June 2021, being associated with increased transmissibility and disease severity, a reduction in neutralization antibodies and effectiveness of treatments or vaccines, and diagnostic detection failure. Here we show that, following several importations predominantly from the USA, the Delta variant rapidly replaced Gamma after July 2021. However, in contrast to what was seen in other countries, the rapid spread of Delta did not lead to a large increase in the number of cases and deaths reported in Brazil. We suggest that this was likely due to the relatively successful early vaccination campaign coupled with natural immunity acquired following prior infection with Gamma. Our data reinforce reports of the increased transmissibility of the Delta variant and, considering the increasing concern due to the recently identified Omicron variant, argues for the necessity to strengthen genomic monitoring on a national level to quickly detect the emergence and spread of other VOCs that might threaten global health.
AB - The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic in Brazil was driven mainly by the spread of Gamma (P.1), a locally emerged variant of concern (VOC) that was first detected in early January 2021. This variant was estimated to be responsible for more than 96 per cent of cases reported between January and June 2021, being associated with increased transmissibility and disease severity, a reduction in neutralization antibodies and effectiveness of treatments or vaccines, and diagnostic detection failure. Here we show that, following several importations predominantly from the USA, the Delta variant rapidly replaced Gamma after July 2021. However, in contrast to what was seen in other countries, the rapid spread of Delta did not lead to a large increase in the number of cases and deaths reported in Brazil. We suggest that this was likely due to the relatively successful early vaccination campaign coupled with natural immunity acquired following prior infection with Gamma. Our data reinforce reports of the increased transmissibility of the Delta variant and, considering the increasing concern due to the recently identified Omicron variant, argues for the necessity to strengthen genomic monitoring on a national level to quickly detect the emergence and spread of other VOCs that might threaten global health.
KW - Brazil
KW - Delta
KW - Gamma
KW - Genomic monitoring
KW - Variants replacment
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85128351755&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1093/ve/veac024
DO - 10.1093/ve/veac024
M3 - Article
C2 - 35371559
AN - SCOPUS:85128351755
SN - 2057-1577
VL - 8
JO - Virus Evolution
JF - Virus Evolution
IS - 1
M1 - veac024
ER -
