The focal S:N501 build is now updated with data from 13 Jan!

There are a total of 247 non-UK & non-South African sequences in 501Y.V1 (B.1.1.7 #b117) & 501Y.V2.

I'll do an additional thread later on, covering S:E484 & the 'Ohio variants'.

1/18

https://t.co/3bdttjKVl4

There are 244 new sequences in 501Y.V1 (B.1.1.7) from Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, India, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain & USA, as well sequences as from Ecuador and Greece for the first time.

2/18
Greece has 3 new sequences in 501Y.V1 for the first time. They indicate 2 separate introductions.

Ecuador has 2 sequences for the first time. They also indicate 2 separate introductions.

3/18
The USA has 61 new sequences (orange), from Florida, Minnesota, California, Pennsylvania, & New York.

A few of these represent separate introductions. Others form distinct clusters that may indicate ongoing local transmission.

4/18
Israel has 35 new sequences (orange). Some of these show separate introductions, but many link with older sequences, indicating ongoing local transmission.

5/18
The Netherlands has 34 new sequences (orange). A few of these represent separate introductions, but most form a large cluster with older sequences from the Netherlands, indicating ongoing local transmission.

6/18
Portugal has 31 new sequences (orange). Though hard to see in the zoomed-out view, most of these represent separate introductions. There is one case where 2 new seqs are identical to an older one, but this could be a common exposure source.

7/18
Denmark has 20 new sequences (orange). A few of these indicate separate introductions, but must cluster with older sequences in smaller groups or in the very large Danish group previously identified, indicating local transmission.

8/18
Norway has 14 new sequences (orange). Most indicate separate introductions, but a few are identical to or related to an older sequence, which may indicate local transmission.

9/18
Spain has 11 new sequences (orange). All of these indicate separate introductions, though some new sequences link together to form tight clusters. This could indicate local transmission or a common source.

10/18
New Zealand has 10 new sequences (orange). All represent separate introductions, though some new sequences are linked together.

11/18
Singapore has 6 new sequences (orange). Though hard to see in zoomed-out view, most of these indicate separate introductions.

12/18
Italy has 6 new sequences (orange). It's a bit hard to see in the zoomed-out view, but none of these link directly with older samples, indicating separate introductions - though 2 new seqs link together.

13/18
Germany has 4 new sequences (orange). Though hard to see in the zoomed-out view, these all represent separate introductions.

14/18
Australia also has 4 new sequences (orange), including the first from Western Australia. These indicate separate introductions, though 2 of the new sequences are identical (marked in red).

15/18
India has 2 new sequences (orange, one hidden behind the green - pic 1). One is a separate introduction, the other links with a previous sequence (pic 2).

Belgium has 1 new sequence, which links 1 mutation away from a previous sequence (pic 3).

16/18
There are 3 new non-South African sequences in 501Y.V2, from Germany for the first time. They are identical, which may indicate a common exposure.

17/18
The updated country plots will go up soon, and I'll add another thread later on S:E484 & the 'Ohio variants'.

18/18
The updated country plots are now up. As always, be careful interpreting plots as many countries are selectively sequencing S:N501 & S-drop outs (which often increases S:N439), so frequencies are often not representative!

19/18

https://t.co/c7wlQOufTQ

More from Dr Emma Hodcroft

🎉Happy New Year!🎉

To kick off 2021, here's an update on:
- S:N501 variants (501Y.V1/V2) with data from 31 Dec 2020
- 69/70del variants
- 20A.EU1 variant (most prevalent variant in Europe)

(Here are some fireworks that look a bit like phylogenies! 🎆)

1/23


The latest sequences from 31 Dec show new sequences in the S:N501Y.V1 variant (originating from SE England) from Netherlands, Denmark, Australia, Italy, Canada, the USA, Germany, Switzerland, & India.

2/23

S:N501 link
https://t.co/TfHfPgBEBS

Image link
https://t.co/3aCKv1pAcI


Canada, Germany, & Switzerland all have sequences that fall in 501Y.V1 for the first time, scattered across the tree.

3/23


The USA also has its first 2 sequences that fall in 501Y.V1, from Colorado & California. India also had its first 3 sequences, also from different regions.

In both cases, the sequences are not connected, indicating separate introductions.

4/23


In countries with previous sequences:

6 new sequences from Netherlands, in orange/yellow (green are older).
1 is clearly separate - zooming in (& in divergence view, coloured by country) it is harder to determine the relationship between the others.

5/23
Lots of tweets about this today!
Let's see what we can see in the focal S:E484 build!

Phylogenetics (what I do - making 'family trees' from virus genetics) can be very informative to see how different variants are spreading, and how cases

There are two variants circulating predominantly in Brazil:
- 20B/S.484K seems to be older & more widespread. It has (among others) a mutation at position 484
- 20J/501Y.V3 is smaller & detected recently. It has mutations at 501 *and* 484.

2/10

https://t.co/Cw5u2kuATa


The variant predominantly in the UK (501Y.V1 / B.1.1.7) and the variant predominantly in South Africa (501Y.V2) also both have 501. 501Y.V2 *also* has the 484K mutation.

Why are there concerns about these mutations? You can read more at https://t.co/wVE7ubYBoy!

3/10


The view below is from an analysis focusing on sequences with a mutation at 484. It shows all the samples in the 2 variants (20B/S.484K & 20J/501Y.V3) & how they're related. More closely related = closer together (very, very roughly).

4/10


We can colour these samples by region to see where they're from. As we expect - most are in Brazil! A few are in Argentina (also red).

5/10

https://t.co/Cw5u2kuATa

More from Society

So, as the #MegaMillions jackpot reaches a record $1.6B and #Powerball reaches $620M, here's my advice about how to spend the money in a way that will truly set you, your children and their kids up for life.

Ready?

Create a private foundation and give it all away. 1/

Let's stipulate first that lottery winners often have a hard time. Being publicly identified makes you a target for "friends" and "family" who want your money, as well as for non-family grifters and con men. 2/

The stress can be damaging, even deadly, and Uncle Sam takes his huge cut. Plus, having a big pool of disposable income can be irresistible to people not accustomed to managing wealth.
https://t.co/fiHsuJyZwz 3/

Meanwhile, the private foundation is as close as we come to Downton Abbey and the landed aristocracy in this country. It's a largely untaxed pot of money that grows significantly over time, and those who control them tend to entrench their own privileges and those of their kin. 4

Here's how it works for a big lotto winner:

1. Win the prize.
2. Announce that you are donating it to the YOUR NAME HERE Family Foundation.
3. Receive massive plaudits in the press. You will be a folk hero for this decision.
4. Appoint only trusted friends/family to board. 5/

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