Detection of B.1.351 SARS-CoV-2 Variant Strain — Zambia, December 2020

Details

• Journal Article:
  Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
• Personal Author:
  Mwenda, Mulenga ; Saasa, Ngonda ; Sinyange, Nyambe ; Busby, George ; Chipimo, Peter J. ; Hendry, Jason ; Kapona, Otridah ; Yingst, Samuel ; Hines, Jonas Z. ; Minchella, Peter ; Simulundu, Edgar ; Changula, Katendi ; Nalubamba, King Shimumbo ; Sawa, Hirofumi ; Kajihara, Masahiro ; Yamagishi, Junya ; Kapin’a, Muzala ; Kapata, Nathan ; Fwoloshi, Sombo ; Zulu, Paul ; Mulenga, Lloyd B. ; Agolory, Simon ; Mukonka, Victor ; Bridges, Daniel J.
• Description:
  The first laboratory-confirmed cases of coronaVirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the illness caused by SARS-CoV-2, in Zambia were detected in March 2020 (1). Beginning in July, the number of confirmed cases began to increase rapidly, first peaking during July-August, and then declining in September and October (Figure). After 3 months of relatively low case counts, COVID-19 cases began rapidly rising throughout the country in mid-December. On December 18, 2020, South Africa published the genome of a SARS-CoV-2 Variants strain with several mutations that affect the spike protein (2). The Variants included a mutation (N501Y) associated with increased transmissibility.| SARS-CoV-2 lineages with this mutation have rapidly expanded geographically.|** The Variants strain (PANGO [Phylogenetic Assignment of Named Global Outbreak] lineage B.1.351|) was first detected in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa from specimens collected in early August, spread within South Africa, and appears to have displaced the majority of other SARS-CoV-2 lineages circulating in that country (2). As of January 10, 2021, eight countries had reported cases with the B.1.351 Variants. In Zambia, the average number of daily confirmed COVID-19 cases increased 16-fold, from 44 cases during December 1-10 to 700 during January 1-10, after detection of the B.1.351 Variants in specimens collected during December 16-23. Zambia is a southern African country that shares substantial commerce and tourism linkages with South Africa, which might have contributed to the Transmission of the B.1.351 Variants between the two countries.
• Subjects:
  Adult CoronaVirus Infections COVID-19 COVID-19 Nucleic Acid Testing Female Humans Male Middle Aged SARS-CoV-2
• Source:
  MMWR Morbidity Mortal Weekly Rep. 70(8):280-282
• Series:
  Weekly Report: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
• DOI:
  http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7008e2
• ISSN:
  0149-2195 (print) ; 1545-861X (digital)
• Pubmed ID:
  33630820
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC8344984
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Zambia
• Pages in Document:
  3 pdf pages
• Volume:
  70
• Issue:
  8
• Collection(s):
  Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:7198b99a7363115bb0d5915c3b06094f7682c8f40a9518badc6d1a5ff5a34952af696276ecda555118abbf3eaf51d4427d24171ac7bec8c2004c515da51cf6fe
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/109785/cdc_109785_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 102.88 KB ]