{"id":421,"date":"2021-03-02T01:09:17","date_gmt":"2021-03-02T09:09:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.acceleratingscience.com\/ask-a-scientist\/?p=421"},"modified":"2022-11-30T14:37:34","modified_gmt":"2022-11-30T22:37:34","slug":"a-reference-guide-to-notable-sars-cov-2-variants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thermofisher.com\/blog\/clinical-conversations\/a-reference-guide-to-notable-sars-cov-2-variants\/","title":{"rendered":"A Reference Guide to Notable SARS-CoV-2 Variants"},"content":{"rendered":"

This blog represents the most up-to-date information as of November 16th, 2022.<\/em><\/p>\n

Viruses constantly mutate leading to the emergence of new variants. SARS-CoV-2 is no exception. Multiple variants of SARS-CoV-2<\/a>, such as Alpha, Delta, and Omicron, have appeared globally in this pandemic. While changes are inevitable, scientists and public health officials are concerned that some changes, such as the spike protein mutations, could affect pathogen transmissibility, disease severity, clinical management, performances of vaccines, diagnostic tools, and infection control measures [1].<\/p>\n

As SARS-CoV-2 mutates, COVID-19 testing labs may have questions about the potential impact of the mutations on current molecular diagnostic tests.<\/p>\n

Mutations and the TaqPath COVID-19 portfolio of tests<\/h2>\n

We are committed to providing our customers with up-to-date, accurate, and efficient molecular diagnostic technology. The\u00a0TaqPath COVID-19 portfolio of diagnostic tests<\/a>\u00a0use a\u00a0multi-target assay design<\/a>\u00a0to compensate for emerging SARS-CoV-2 mutations. Additionally, we actively monitor post-market reports, publications, and public genomic databases to ensure our coronavirus assays continue to meet the highest quality standards. As part of our post-market surveillance efforts, we collect, review, and analyze data on the performance of our tests, including assessing whether any emerging mutations overlap with our assay design.<\/p>\n

As our TaqPath COVID-19 portfolio of assays are all designed to detect multiple genetic targets, the overall test sensitivity should not be affected by the currently known SARS-CoV-2 variants [2]*.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

Reference guide to notable SARS-CoV-2 variants and the TaqPath COVID-19 tests<\/h2>\n

The table below lists the variants of SARS-CoV-2 have been named Variants of Concern (VOCs) by the World Health Organization [1][3]\u00a0<\/sup>during different stages of the pandemic and the currently known impact on the TaqPath COVID-19 tests. Omicron is currently the only circulating variant of concern (VOC) listed by the World Health Organization.<\/p>\n

Table 1: SARS-CoV-2 variants designed as Variants of Concern (VOCs) during different stages of the pandemic and their currently known impact on our tests <\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
WHO Label<\/th>\nPango Lineage<\/th>\nNexstrain Clade<\/th>\nEarliest Documented Samples<\/th>\nDate of VOC Designation<\/th>\nAssociated Phenotype<\/th>\nCurrently Known Impact on Our Tests<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
Alpha<\/td>\nB.1.1.7<\/td>\n20I (V1)<\/td>\nUnited Kingdom, Sep-2020<\/td>\n18-Dec-2020<\/td>\nIncreased transmissibility and mortality.4<\/sup><\/td>\nNo known impact on overall test sensitivity.<\/p>\n
    \n
  • Decreased detection of only the S gene for variants containing 69-70del mutation (S gene dropout)<\/li>\n
  • S gene advantage: Observable S gene dropout may signal presence of 69-70del & potentially B.1.1.7<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Beta<\/td>\nB.1.351<\/td>\n20H (V2)<\/td>\nSouth Africa, May-2020<\/td>\n18-Dec-2020<\/td>\nReduced antibody recognition, associated with vaccine resistance.5<\/sup><\/td>\nNo known impact on overall inclusivity of the tests.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Gamma<\/td>\nP.1<\/td>\n20J (V3)<\/td>\nBrazil, Nov-2020<\/td>\n11-Jan-2021<\/td>\nReduced antibody recognition, associated with vaccine resistance6<\/sup><\/td>\nNo known impact on overall inclusivity of the tests.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Delta<\/td>\nB.1.617.2<\/td>\n21A, 21I, 21J<\/td>\nIndia, Oct-2020<\/td>\n11-May-2021<\/td>\nIncreased transmissibility, associated with breakthrough infections among the vaccinated and more severe illness in unvaccinated individuals.7,8<\/sup><\/td>\nNo known impact on overall inclusivity of the tests.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Omicron*<\/td>\nB.1.1.529<\/td>\n21 M<\/td>\nMultiple countries, Nov-2021<\/td>\n26-Nov-2021<\/td>\nIncreased transmissibility, associated with less severe disease in general, associated with breakthrough infections among the vaccinated individuals.9<\/sup><\/td>\nNo known impact on overall inclusivity of the tests.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Descendent Pango Lineages of Omicron and their Currently Known Impact on Our Tests<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
BA.1 (and all sublineages)<\/td>\n21 K<\/td>\nNo known impact on overall inclusivity of the tests.<\/p>\n
    \n
  • Decreased detection of only the S gene for variants containing 69-70del mutation (S gene dropout).<\/li>\n
  • Observable S gene dropout may signal presence of 69-70del and potentially Omicron sublineage BA1, BA3, BA4, or BA5.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
BA.2 (and all sublineages, including BA.2.75, BJ.1, XBB)<\/span><\/td>\n21 L
\n(BA.2.75 = 22D)<\/td>\n		No known impact on overall inclusivity of the tests. No observable S gene dropout.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
BA.3<\/td>\n–<\/td>\nNo known impact on overall inclusivity of the tests.<\/p>\n
    \n
  • Decreased detection of only the S gene for variants containing 69-70del mutation (S gene dropout).<\/li>\n
  • Observable S gene dropout may signal presence of 69-70del and potentially Omicron sublineage BA1, BA3, BA4, or BA5.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
BA.4 (and all sublineages, including BA.4.6)<\/td>\n22A<\/td>\nNo known impact on overall inclusivity of the tests.<\/p>\n
    \n
  • Decreased detection of only the S gene for variants containing 69-70del mutation (S gene dropout).<\/li>\n
  • Observable S gene dropout may signal presence of 69-70del and potentially Omicron sublineage BA1, BA3, BA4, or BA5.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
BA.5 (and all sublineages, including BF.7, BF.14, BQ.1, BQ1.1.)<\/td>\n22B<\/td>\nNo known impact on overall inclusivity of the tests.<\/p>\n