Title: Genomic epidemiology of the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Brazil
Authors: Giovanetti M, Slavov SN, Fonseca V, Wilkinson E, Tegally H, Patané JSL, Viala VL, San EJ, Rodrigues ES, Santos EV, Aburjaile F, Xavier J, Fritsch H, Adelino TER, Pereira F, Leal A, Iani FCM, de Carvalho Pereira G, Vazquez C, Sanabria GME, Oliveira EC, Demarchi L, Croda J, Dos Santos Bezerra R, Paola Oliveira de Lima L, Martins AJ, Renata Dos Santos Barros C, Marqueze EC, de Souza Todao Bernardino J, Moretti DB, Brassaloti RA, de Lello Rocha Campos Cassano R, Mariani PDSC, Kitajima JP, Santos B, Proto-Siqueira R, Cantarelli VV, Tosta S, Nardy VB, Reboredo de Oliveira da Silva L, Gómez MKA, Lima JG, Ribeiro AA, Guimarães NR, Watanabe LT, Barbosa Da Silva L, da Silva Ferreira R, da Penha MPF, Ortega MJ, de la Fuente AG, Villalba S, Torales J, Gamarra ML, Aquino C, Figueredo GPM, Fava WS, Motta-Castro ARC, Venturini J, do Vale Leone de Oliveira SM, Gonçalves CCM, do Carmo Debur Rossa M, Becker GN, Giacomini MP, Marques NQ, Riediger IN, Raboni S, Mattoso G, Cataneo AD, Zanluca C, Duarte Dos Santos CN, Assato PA, Allan da Silva da Costa F, Poleti MD, Lesbon JCC, Mattos EC, Banho CA, Sacchetto L, Moraes MM, Grotto RMT, Souza-Neto JA, Nogueira ML, Fukumasu H, Coutinho LL, Calado RT, Neto RM, Bispo de Filippis AM, Venancio da Cunha R, Freitas C, Peterka CRL, de Fátima Rangel Fernandes C, Navegantes W, do Carmo Said RF, Campelo de A E Melo CF, Almiron M, Lourenço J, de Oliveira T, Holmes EC, Haddad R, Sampaio SC, Elias MC, Kashima S, Junior de Alcantara LC, Covas DT.
Journal: Nature Microbiology,doi: 10.1038/s41564-022-01191-z: (2022)

Abstract

The high numbers of COVID-19 cases and deaths in Brazil have made Latin America an epicentre of the pandemic. SARS-CoV-2 established sustained transmission in Brazil early in the pandemic, but important gaps remain in our understanding of virus transmission dynamics at a national scale. We use 17,135 near-complete genomes sampled from 27 Brazilian states and bordering country Paraguay. From March to November 2020, we detected co-circulation of multiple viral lineages that were linked to multiple importations (predominantly from Europe). After November 2020, we detected large, local transmission clusters within the country. In the absence of effective restriction measures, the epidemic progressed, and in January 2021 there was emergence and onward spread, both within and abroad, of variants of concern and variants under monitoring, including Gamma (P.1) and Zeta (P.2). We also characterized a genomic overview of the epidemic in Paraguay and detected evidence of importation of SARS-CoV-2 ancestor lineages and variants of concern from Brazil. Our findings show that genomic surveillance in Brazil enabled assessment of the real-time spread of emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants.

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Citation: Giovanetti M, Slavov SN, Fonseca V, Wilkinson E, Tegally H, Patané JSL, Viala VL, San EJ, Rodrigues ES, Santos EV, Aburjaile F, Xavier J, Fritsch H, Adelino TER, Pereira F, Leal A, Iani FCM, de Carvalho Pereira G, Vazquez C, Sanabria GME, Oliveira EC, Demarchi L, Croda J, Dos Santos Bezerra R, Paola Oliveira de Lima L, Martins AJ, Renata Dos Santos Barros C, Marqueze EC, de Souza Todao Bernardino J, Moretti DB, Brassaloti RA, de Lello Rocha Campos Cassano R, Mariani PDSC, Kitajima JP, Santos B, Proto-Siqueira R, Cantarelli VV, Tosta S, Nardy VB, Reboredo de Oliveira da Silva L, Gómez MKA, Lima JG, Ribeiro AA, Guimarães NR, Watanabe LT, Barbosa Da Silva L, da Silva Ferreira R, da Penha MPF, Ortega MJ, de la Fuente AG, Villalba S, Torales J, Gamarra ML, Aquino C, Figueredo GPM, Fava WS, Motta-Castro ARC, Venturini J, do Vale Leone de Oliveira SM, Gonçalves CCM, do Carmo Debur Rossa M, Becker GN, Giacomini MP, Marques NQ, Riediger IN, Raboni S, Mattoso G, Cataneo AD, Zanluca C, Duarte Dos Santos CN, Assato PA, Allan da Silva da Costa F, Poleti MD, Lesbon JCC, Mattos EC, Banho CA, Sacchetto L, Moraes MM, Grotto RMT, Souza-Neto JA, Nogueira ML, Fukumasu H, Coutinho LL, Calado RT, Neto RM, Bispo de Filippis AM, Venancio da Cunha R, Freitas C, Peterka CRL, de Fátima Rangel Fernandes C, Navegantes W, do Carmo Said RF, Campelo de A E Melo CF, Almiron M, Lourenço J, de Oliveira T, Holmes EC, Haddad R, Sampaio SC, Elias MC, Kashima S, Junior de Alcantara LC, Covas DT. Genomic epidemiology of the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Brazil Nature Microbiology,doi: 10.1038/s41564-022-01191-z: (2022).