Early epidemiological signatures of novel SARS-CoV-2 variants: establishment of B.1.617.2 in England
This article has been Reviewed by the following groups
Listed in
- Evaluated articles (ScreenIT)
Abstract
The rapid emergence of SARS-CoV-2 mutants with new phenotypic properties is a critical challenge to the control of the ongoing pandemic. B.1.1.7 was monitored in the UK through routine testing and S-gene target failures (SGTF), comprising over 90% of cases by March 2021. Now, the reverse is occurring: SGTF cases are being replaced by an S-gene positive variant, which we associate with B.1.617.2. Evidence from the characteristics of S-gene positive cases demonstrates that, following importation, B.1.617.2 is transmitted locally, growing at a rate higher than B.1.1.7 and a doubling time between 5-14 days. S-gene positive cases should be prioritised for sequencing and aggressive control in any countries in which this variant is newly detected.
One-Sentence Summary
The B.1.617.2 variant of SARS-CoV-2 is replacing B.1.1.7 and emerging as the dominant variant in England, evidenced by sustained local transmission.
Article activity feed
-
SciScore for 10.1101/2021.06.05.21258365: (What is this?)
Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.
Table 1: Rigor
Ethics not detected. Sex as a biological variable not detected. Randomization not detected. Blinding not detected. Power Analysis not detected. Table 2: Resources
Software and Algorithms Sentences Resources Materials and Methods: Methodssuggested: NoneResults from OddPub: We did not detect open data. We also did not detect open code. Researchers are encouraged to share open data when possible (see Nature blog).
Results from LimitationRecognizer: We detected the following sentences addressing limitations in the study:Despite remaining limitations (Supplementary Material Section 8), the United Kingdom has a -well-established disease surveillance programme and has the ability to undertake detailed epidemiological …
SciScore for 10.1101/2021.06.05.21258365: (What is this?)
Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.
Table 1: Rigor
Ethics not detected. Sex as a biological variable not detected. Randomization not detected. Blinding not detected. Power Analysis not detected. Table 2: Resources
Software and Algorithms Sentences Resources Materials and Methods: Methodssuggested: NoneResults from OddPub: We did not detect open data. We also did not detect open code. Researchers are encouraged to share open data when possible (see Nature blog).
Results from LimitationRecognizer: We detected the following sentences addressing limitations in the study:Despite remaining limitations (Supplementary Material Section 8), the United Kingdom has a -well-established disease surveillance programme and has the ability to undertake detailed epidemiological studies that establish phenotypic properties of globally circulating variants that are often not possible in locations where variants emerge or are first identified (29). Our work provides a deeper understanding of the effect of SARS-CoV-2 variant dynamics that need to be accounted for when estimating transmissibility, severity (4–6) and vaccine escape potential (27), and there is an ethical imperative to continue these efforts because the results have global policy implications.
Results from TrialIdentifier: No clinical trial numbers were referenced.
Results from Barzooka: We found bar graphs of continuous data. We recommend replacing bar graphs with more informative graphics, as many different datasets can lead to the same bar graph. The actual data may suggest different conclusions from the summary statistics. For more information, please see Weissgerber et al (2015).
Results from JetFighter: We did not find any issues relating to colormaps.
Results from rtransparent:- Thank you for including a conflict of interest statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
- Thank you for including a funding statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
- Thank you for including a protocol registration statement.
Results from scite Reference Check: We found no unreliable references.
-
