The focal S:N501 build has been updated with data from 15 Jan, & includes 164 non-UK, non-South African sequences in 501Y.V1 (B.1.1.7 #b117) & 501Y.V2.

The S:E484 build has also been updated. Includes 501Y.V3 & 20B/S.484K (predominantly in Brazil).

1/16

https://t.co/3bdttjKVl4

There are 161 new, non-UK sequences in 501Y.V1 (B.1.1.7) from the Netherlands, Denmark, Australia, Spain, Norway, Germany, the USA, & Switzerland, and from Turkey and Ecuador for the first time.

2/16
Turkey has 19 sequences in 501Y.V1 for the first time. These indicate many independent introductions, though a few clusters may indicate local transmission, and pairs with common exposure.

3/16
Ecuador has 4 sequences in 501Y.V1 for the first time, which represent 2 separate introductions (pic 2). 3 are identical, and may represent exposure to a common source (pic 3). The connection to the Spanish sequence may be a common source, or onward transmission.

4/16
Denmark has 66 new sequences (orange). A few are independent introductions, though many link with older sequences, showing continuing local transmission.

5/16
Spain has 42 new sequences (orange), including from the island of Mallorca. Many represent new introductions, though some link together & to older sequences (pic 2). Some sequences from Mallorca form tight, distinctive clusters (pic 3).

6/16
The Netherlands has 15 new sequences (orange). All of these are separate introductions, though a few new sequences link together which could be a common exposure source.

7/16
Switzerland has 9 new sequences (yellow). Many are separate introductions. Some sit close to other new sequences & older sequences. In some, geographic distribution implies these are separate introductions (pic 2). Others seem likely to be local transmission (pic 3).

8/16
Australia has 2 new sequences (orange) - they are linked but are a separate introduction, in Victoria.

Norway has 1 new sequence (orange). Though hard to see in the picture, it is a separate introduction & not connected to older sequences.

9/16
Germany has 2 new sequences (orange). Both representing separate introductions (pic 1).

The USA has 1 new sequence, from New Mexico (orange). It is 1 mutation away from older sequences - this could be local transmission or exposure to a common source (pic 2 & 3).

10/16
There are 3 new non-South African sequences in 501Y.V2 from Germany & Australia -- & Norway for the first time.

11/16
There is 1 new sequence each from Australia & Germany. The new Australian seq (yellow, bottom) is a separate introduction. The German seq (orange) is related to older German sequences but doesn't branch directly & is 5 mutations away, so may be exposure to a common source.

12/16
There is 1 new sequence from Norway in 501Y.V2 for the first time.
It is similar to sequences from England and France, which may onward transmission in Europe or a common source outside of Europe.

13/16
Finally, in the S:E484 build, there are 3 new sequences that fall in 20B/S.484K from Denmark, which indicate at least 2 introductions.

14/16

https://t.co/HpPeemTCkW
As usual, the country-plot is also updated. As always - interpret with care! Many countries are preferentially sequencing S-drop-out & S:N501 samples, & so the frequencies represented are often not reflective of real life.

15/16
https://t.co/c7wlQOLRiq
As always, you can read more about all the variants I'm tracking at https://t.co/wVE7ubYBoy!

16/16

More from Dr Emma Hodcroft

Each day brings new challenges, but here's an update to the dedicated S.N501 build, using data from 6 Jan 2021 to keep you going.

There are 42 new non-UK sequences in 501Y.V1 (B.1.1.7) & 7 new non-South-African sequences in 501Y.V2.

1/14

https://t.co/kT1gFsSZn0


There are 42 new non-UK sequences in 501Y.V1 from the Netherlands, Italy, Hong Kong, Finland, Sweden, Germany, USA, Switzerland, Brazil, and the first sequence from 501Y.V1 in Oman.

https://t.co/XA8VR8HiEq

2/14


Oman has their first sequence which falls into 501Y.V1:

3/14


Finland has 12 new sequences (orange), which mostly represent separate introductions. Zooming in (divergence view), we can see 3 of the new sequences are identical (red), which may indicate the cases are connected.

4/14


Sweden has 8 new sequences (orange), which indicate separate introductions.

5/14
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
🎉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

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