Abstract

Omicron has become the dominant SARS-CoV-2 variant globally since December 2021, with distinct waves being associated with separate Omicron sublineages. Rapid detection of BA.1, BA.2, BA.4, and BA.5 was accomplished in the province of Alberta, Canada, through the design and implementation of real-time reverse transcriptase PCR assays targeting S:N501Y, S:ins214EPE, S:H69/V70, ORF7b:L11F, and M:D3N. Using the combination of results for each of these markers, samples could be designated as belonging to sublineages within BA.1, BA.2, BA.4, or BA.5. The analytical sensitivity of these markers ranged from 132 to 2229 copies/mL and in-laboratory accuracy was 98.9–100%. A 97.3% agreement using 12,592 specimens was demonstrated for the assays compared to genome sequencing. The use of these assays, combined with genome sequencing, facilitated the surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 lineages throughout a BA.5-dominated period.

Details

Title
Tracking SARS-CoV-2 Omicron lineages using real-time reverse transcriptase PCR assays and prospective comparison with genome sequencing
Author
Zelyas, Nathan 1 ; Pabbaraju, Kanti 2 ; Croxen, Matthew A. 3 ; Lynch, Tarah 4 ; McCullough, Emily 5 ; Murphy, Stephanie A. 6 ; Shokoples, Sandy 7 ; Wong, Anita 8 ; Kanji, Jamil N. 9 ; Tipples, Graham 10 

 Public Health Laboratory, Alberta Precision Laboratories, Edmonton, Canada; University of Alberta, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Edmonton, Canada (GRID:grid.17089.37) 
 Public Health Laboratory, Alberta Precision Laboratories, Calgary, Canada (GRID:grid.17089.37) 
 Public Health Laboratory, Alberta Precision Laboratories, Edmonton, Canada (GRID:grid.17089.37); University of Alberta, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Edmonton, Canada (GRID:grid.17089.37); University of Alberta, Li Ka Shing Institute of Virology, Edmonton, Canada (GRID:grid.17089.37) 
 Public Health Laboratory, Alberta Precision Laboratories, Calgary, Canada (GRID:grid.17089.37); University of Calgary, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Calgary, Canada (GRID:grid.22072.35) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 7697) 
 Public Health Laboratory, Alberta Precision Laboratories, Edmonton, Canada (GRID:grid.22072.35) 
 Public Health Laboratory, Alberta Precision Laboratories, Edmonton, Canada (GRID:grid.22072.35); Public Health Agency of Canada, National Microbiology Laboratory, Edmonton, Canada (GRID:grid.415368.d) (ISNI:0000 0001 0805 4386) 
 Public Health Laboratory, Alberta Precision Laboratories, Edmonton, Canada (GRID:grid.415368.d) 
 Public Health Laboratory, Alberta Precision Laboratories, Calgary, Canada (GRID:grid.415368.d) 
 University of Alberta, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Edmonton, Canada (GRID:grid.17089.37); Public Health Laboratory, Alberta Precision Laboratories, Calgary, Canada (GRID:grid.17089.37); University of Calgary, Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Calgary, Canada (GRID:grid.22072.35) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 7697) 
10  Public Health Laboratory, Alberta Precision Laboratories, Edmonton, Canada (GRID:grid.22072.35); University of Alberta, Li Ka Shing Institute of Virology, Edmonton, Canada (GRID:grid.17089.37); University of Alberta, Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Edmonton, Canada (GRID:grid.17089.37) 
Pages
17478
Publication year
2023
Publication date
2023
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
20452322
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2877037559
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2023. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.