Biomedical Research Center, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar.
Genomics Laboratory, Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, Cornell University, Doha, Qatar.
Front Cell Infect Microbiol. 2021 Nov 17;11:768883. doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2021.768883. eCollection 2021.
Qatar, a country with a strong health system and a diverse population consisting mainly of expatriate residents, has experienced two large waves of COVID-19 outbreak. In this study, we report on 2634 SARS-CoV-2 whole-genome sequences from infected patients in Qatar between March-2020 and March-2021, representing 1.5% of all positive cases in this period. Despite the restrictions on international travel, the viruses sampled from the populace of Qatar mirrored nearly the entire global population's genomic diversity with nine predominant viral lineages that were sustained by local transmission chains and the emergence of mutations that are likely to have originated in Qatar. We reported an increased number of mutations and deletions in B.1.1.7 and B.1.351 lineages in a short period. These findings raise the imperative need to continue the ongoing genomic surveillance that has been an integral part of the national response to monitor the SARS-CoV-2 profile and re-emergence in Qatar.
卡塔尔拥有强大的卫生系统和以侨民为主的多元化人口，经历了两次大规模的 COVID-19 疫情爆发。在这项研究中，我们报告了 2020 年 3 月至 2021 年 3 月期间卡塔尔感染患者的 2634 个 SARS-CoV-2 全基因组序列，占该期间所有阳性病例的 1.5%。尽管对国际旅行实行了限制，但从卡塔尔民众中采样的病毒反映了几乎全球所有人的基因组多样性，存在九个主要的病毒谱系，这些谱系是由当地传播链维持的，并且出现了可能起源于卡塔尔的突变。我们报告说，在短时间内，B.1.1.7 和 B.1.351 谱系中的突变和缺失数量增加。这些发现凸显了继续进行全基因组监测的必要性，这是国家应对 COVID-19 的重要组成部分，以监测卡塔尔的 SARS-CoV-2 特征和再次出现。
