SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern are associated with lower RT-PCR amplification cycles between January and March 2021 in France

At least three SARS-CoV-2 variants are currently major sources of concern: Alpha from lineage B.1.1.7 (Davies et  al., 2021; Volz et al., 2021), Beta from lineage B.1.351 (Tegally et al., 2021), and Gamma from lineage P.1 (Faria et al., 2021). Alpha and Gamma variants have been shown to be more contagious (Davies et al., 2021; Faria et al., 2021; Volz et al., 2021), while Beta and Gamma seem to evade im mune responses (Faria et al., 2021; Tegally et al., 2021). Although the mechanistic bases are still being investigated, the increased transmissibility could be driven by the N501Y mutation and the Δ69-70 deletion in the Spike protein (Davies et al., 2021), where also lies the E484K mutation rela ted to immune escape (Faria et al., 2021; Tegally et al., 2021).
Source: International Journal of Infectious Diseases - Category: Infectious Diseases Authors: Tags: Short Communication Source Type: research