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Fiocruz identifies new variant of Ômicron in Amazonas: BE.9

Scientists from the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) have identified a new variant of Ômicron in the Amazon. The variant is a subline of the BA.5 strain, already known, and may be responsible for the recent increase in the number of Covid-19 cases in the state.

The findings, made by researchers from the Fiocruz Genomic Network, were released on Saturday (12) by the team.

Researcher Tiago Gräf, from the Genomic Network, says that the Amazon has been a special territory for monitoring Covid-19. “What happens in the state tends to be repeated in other regions and may be happening again”.

According to experts, the description of yet another variant reinforces the importance of genomic sequencing and continuous study of the evolution of the coronavirus.

Gräf, who analyzed the results found by the team of virologist Felipe Naveca, from Fiocruz Amazônia, says that Covid-19 cases in Amazonas have been on the rise since mid-October and have risen from a moving average of about 230 cases per week to about of 1,000.

To investigate what could be causing this resurgence of Covid-19 in the state, Naveca’s team sequenced more than 200 genomes of SARS-CoV-2 from September and October and thus identified the new variant.

Naveca points out that one of the factors that facilitates the identification of new variants is that Amazonas has the highest coverage of Sars-CoV-2 sequencing in Brazil, depending on the number of confirmed cases, which is the measure used by the World Organization for Health (WHO).

“As we carry out surveillance in a large percentage of cases, working in partnership with the State Health Surveillance Foundation and LACEN/AM, we were able to make these identifications early and explain how the variants appeared”, emphasizes the author. virologist.

BE.9 is an evolution of the BA.5.3.1 lineage, that is, it is an Ômicron of the BA.5 lineage. Naveca states that, due to the mutations found in BA.5.3.1 from Amazonas, the committee responsible for classifying the lineages (PANGOLIN, located in the United Kingdom) was asked to create a specific designation for this subline, now officially called of BE.9. Naveca explains that the two subvariants (BQ.1 and BE.9) share some of the same mutations, but that both do not seem to cause an increase in the number of severe cases, at least so far.

“What intrigued us most about the new variant is that it has the K444T and N460K mutations in Spike, just like BQ.1.1. BE.9 still has a Spike deletion at position Y144”, comments Gräf. According to the researcher “BQ.1.1 descends from BE.1, which also descends from BA.5.3.1. So independently and in different places around the world, BA.5.3.1 spawned strains with the same mutations in Spike. In evolution we call this convergence.”

According to Gräf, “BE.9 and BQ.1.1 have their differences in other regions of the genome, but in Spike they are very similar. That is why it is very important that we closely monitor BE.9, as we have already seen that it has re-emerged Covid-19 in the Amazon and we do not know if it will be able to do the same in the rest of Brazil”. The researcher believes that there will be competition for these “raw” variants in other states. “BQ.1.1 has already been identified in São Paulo, Santa Catarina, Pernambuco and Rio de Janeiro and it is possible that it is already in more states. We still don’t know about BE.9, as the lineage designation took place on November 12 and from that date on we will be able to monitor better”.

However, Gräf, like Naveca, remains optimistic, as the number of SARS cases and deaths from Covid-19 does not seem to be increasing significantly by BQ.1.1 (according to international data) nor by BE.9. “In Amazonas, for example, despite the increase in the number of cases, the wave caused by BE.9 is smaller than that of BA.5 and much smaller than that of BA.1. E The same is observed for SARS hospitalizations. In Amazonas, the BE.9 wave seems to have reached its peak and should start to subside soon”, says Gräf.

Source: CNN Brasil

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