Diverse SARS-CoV-2 variants preceded the initial COVID-19 outbreak in Croatia.

Rokić F, Trgovec-Greif L, Sučić N, Čemeljić N, Grbeša ĐC, Svedružić Ž, Rukavina T, Vugrek O, Jurak I

Arch Virol - (-) - [2021-03-24; online 2021-03-24]

We developed a next-generation SARS-CoV-2 sequencing platform and obtained the first SARS-CoV-2 sequences from patients in Croatia at the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak in the spring of 2020. Integrating the sequencing and the epidemiological data, we show that patients were infected with different SARS-CoV-2 variants belonging to different clades (mostly G and GH). This result confirms that there was widespread virus transmission early in 2020. Interestingly, we identified a unique mutation resulting in a V13I substitution in Nsp5A, the main viral protease, in a patient who had not received antiviral therapy.

Category: Genomics & transcriptomics

Type: Journal article

PubMed 33761008

DOI 10.1007/s00705-021-05029-7

Crossref 10.1007/s00705-021-05029-7

pii: 10.1007/s00705-021-05029-7


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