02743nas a2200313 4500008004100000022001400041245009700055210006900152260001300221300001000234490000600244520172000250100003301970700002602003700001702029700002802046700002302074700002602097700002302123700001702146700002002163700002002183700002802203700002002231700001802251700002002269700002202289856011802311 2024 eng d a2398-883500aMolecular and phylogenetic characterization of the monkeypox outbreak in the South of Spain.0 aMolecular and phylogenetic characterization of the monkeypox out c2024 Mar ae19650 v73 a

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Until the May 2022 Monkeypox (MPXV) outbreak, which spread rapidly to many non-endemic countries, the virus was considered a viral zoonosis limited to some African countries. The Andalusian circuit of genomic surveillance was rapidly applied to characterize the MPXV outbreak in the South of Spain.

METHODS: Whole genome sequencing was used to obtain the genomic profiles of samples collected across the south of Spain, representative of all the provinces of Andalusia. Phylogenetic analysis was used to study the relationship of the isolates and the available sequences of the 2022 outbreak.

RESULTS: Whole genome sequencing of a total of 160 MPXV viruses from the different provinces that reported cases were obtained. Interestingly, we report the sequences of MPXV viruses obtained from two patients who died. While one of the isolates bore no noteworthy mutations that explain a potential heightened virulence, in another patient the second consecutive genome sequence, performed after the administration of tecovirimat, uncovered a mutation within the A0A7H0DN30 gene, known to be a prime target for tecovirimat in its Vaccinia counterpart. In general, a low number of mutations were observed in the sequences reported, which were very similar to the reference of the 2022 outbreak (OX044336), as expected from a DNA virus. The samples likely correspond to several introductions of the circulating MPXV viruses from the last outbreak. The virus sequenced from one of the two patients that died presented a mutation in a gene that bears potential connections to drug resistance. This mutation was absent in the initial sequencing before treatment.

1 aCasimiro-Soriguer, Carlos, S1 aPerez-Florido, Javier1 aLara, María1 aCamacho-Martinez, Pedro1 aMerino-Diaz, Laura1 aPupo-Ledo, Inmaculada1 ade Salazar, Adolfo1 aFuentes, Ana1 aViñuela, Laura1 aChueca, Natalia1 aMartinez-Martinez, Luis1 aLorusso, Nicola1 aLepe, Jose, A1 aDopazo, Joaquin1 aGarcía, Federico uhttps://www.clinbioinfosspa.es/content/molecular-and-phylogenetic-characterization-monkeypox-outbreak-south-spain02373nas a2200337 4500008004100000022001400041245017900055210006900234260001600303490000700319520115700326100002601483700003301509700002201542700002901564700001901593700001701612700002101629700003401650700002801684700002301712700002601735700002301761700002001784700001701804700002001821700002201841700002001863700001801883856013401901 2023 eng d a1422-006700aDetection of High Level of Co-Infection and the Emergence of Novel SARS CoV-2 Delta-Omicron and Omicron-Omicron Recombinants in the Epidemiological Surveillance of Andalusia.0 aDetection of High Level of CoInfection and the Emergence of Nove c2023 Jan 260 v243 a

Recombination is an evolutionary strategy to quickly acquire new viral properties inherited from the parental lineages. The systematic survey of the SARS-CoV-2 genome sequences of the Andalusian genomic surveillance strategy has allowed the detection of an unexpectedly high number of co-infections, which constitute the ideal scenario for the emergence of new recombinants. Whole genome sequence of SARS-CoV-2 has been carried out as part of the genomic surveillance programme. Sample sources included the main hospitals in the Andalusia region. In addition to the increase of co-infections and known recombinants, three novel SARS-CoV-2 delta-omicron and omicron-omicron recombinant variants with two break points have been detected. Our observations document an epidemiological scenario in which co-infection and recombination are detected more frequently. Finally, we describe a family case in which co-infection is followed by the detection of a recombinant made from the two co-infecting variants. This increased number of recombinants raises the risk of emergence of recombinant variants with increased transmissibility and pathogenicity.

1 aPerez-Florido, Javier1 aCasimiro-Soriguer, Carlos, S1 aOrtuno, Francisco1 aFernandez-Rueda, Jose, L1 aAguado, Andrea1 aLara, María1 aRiazzo, Cristina1 aRodriguez-Iglesias, Manuel, A1 aCamacho-Martinez, Pedro1 aMerino-Diaz, Laura1 aPupo-Ledo, Inmaculada1 ade Salazar, Adolfo1 aViñuela, Laura1 aFuentes, Ana1 aChueca, Natalia1 aGarcía, Federico1 aDopazo, Joaquin1 aLepe, Jose, A uhttps://www.clinbioinfosspa.es/content/detection-high-level-co-infection-and-emergence-novel-sars-cov-2-delta-omicron-and-omicron02293nas a2200301 4500008004100000022001400041245015200055210006900207260001600276300000900292490000800301520121000309653001201519653001301531653002101544653001101565653004001576653001501616653003201631100002601663700002301689700001701712700002001729700002601749700002001775700002201795856017401817 2023 eng d a1469-440900aEvaluation of a combined detection of SARS-CoV-2 and its variants using real-time allele-specific PCR strategy: an advantage for clinical practice.0 aEvaluation of a combined detection of SARSCoV2 and its variants  c2023 Nov 24 ae2010 v1513 a

This study aimed to assess the ability of a real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) with multiple targets to detect SARS-CoV-2 and its variants in a single test. Nasopharyngeal specimens were collected from patients in Granada, Spain, between January 2021 and December 2022. Five allele-specific RT-PCR kits were used sequentially, with each kit designed to detect a predominant variant at the time. When the Alpha variant was dominant, the kit included the HV69/70 deletion, E and N genes. When Delta replaced Alpha, the kit incorporated the L452R mutation in addition to E and N genes. When Omicron became dominant, L452R was replaced with the N679K mutation. Before incorporating each variant kit, a comparative analysis was carried out with SARS-CoV-2 whole genome sequencing (WGS). The results demonstrated that RT-PCR with multiple targets can provide rapid and effective detection of SARS-CoV-2 and its variants in a single test. A very high degree of agreement (96.2%) was obtained between the comparison of RT-PCR and WGS. Allele-specific RT-PCR assays make it easier to implement epidemiological surveillance systems for effective public health decision making.

10aAlleles10aCOVID-1910aCOVID-19 Testing10aHumans10aReal-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction10aSARS-CoV-210aSensitivity and Specificity1 aChaves-Blanco, Lucía1 ade Salazar, Adolfo1 aFuentes, Ana1 aViñuela, Laura1 aPerez-Florido, Javier1 aDopazo, Joaquin1 aGarcía, Federico uhttps://www.clinbioinfosspa.es/content/evaluation-combined-detection-sars-cov-2-and-its-variants-using-real-time-allele-specific-pcr-strategy-advantage-clinical-practice02553nas a2200301 4500008004100000022001400041245009700055210006900152260001500221490000700236520154600243653001801789653001401807653001501821653002801836100002501864700002001889700003301909700001801942700002901960700002401989700002302013700002002036700002202056700002602078700002002104856012702124 2021 eng d a2047-217X00aHighly accurate whole-genome imputation of SARS-CoV-2 from partial or low-quality sequences.0 aHighly accurate wholegenome imputation of SARSCoV2 from partial  c2021 12 020 v103 a

BACKGROUND: The current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has emphasized the utility of viral whole-genome sequencing in the surveillance and control of the pathogen. An unprecedented ongoing global initiative is producing hundreds of thousands of sequences worldwide. However, the complex circumstances in which viruses are sequenced, along with the demand of urgent results, causes a high rate of incomplete and, therefore, useless sequences. Viral sequences evolve in the context of a complex phylogeny and different positions along the genome are in linkage disequilibrium. Therefore, an imputation method would be able to predict missing positions from the available sequencing data.

RESULTS: We have developed the impuSARS application, which takes advantage of the enormous number of SARS-CoV-2 genomes available, using a reference panel containing 239,301 sequences, to produce missing data imputation in viral genomes. ImpuSARS was tested in a wide range of conditions (continuous fragments, amplicons or sparse individual positions missing), showing great fidelity when reconstructing the original sequences, recovering the lineage with a 100% precision for almost all the lineages, even in very poorly covered genomes (<20%).

CONCLUSIONS: Imputation can improve the pace of SARS-CoV-2 sequencing production by recovering many incomplete or low-quality sequences that would be otherwise discarded. ImpuSARS can be incorporated in any primary data processing pipeline for SARS-CoV-2 whole-genome sequencing.

10aGenome, Viral10aPhylogeny10aSARS-CoV-210aWhole Genome Sequencing1 aOrtuno, Francisco, M1 aLoucera, Carlos1 aCasimiro-Soriguer, Carlos, S1 aLepe, Jose, A1 aMartinez, Pedro, Camacho1 aDiaz, Laura, Merino1 ade Salazar, Adolfo1 aChueca, Natalia1 aGarcía, Federico1 aPerez-Florido, Javier1 aDopazo, Joaquin uhttps://www.clinbioinfosspa.es/content/highly-accurate-whole-genome-imputation-sars-cov-2-partial-or-low-quality-sequences