Genomic surveillance of SARS-COV-2 reveals diverse circulating variant lineages in Nairobi and Kiambu Counties, Kenya

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  • Josiah O. Kuja
  • Bernard N. Kanoi
  • Balboa, Renzo Fidel Ferdinando
  • Clement Shiluli
  • Michael Maina
  • Harrison Waweru
  • Kimita Gathii
  • Mary Mungai
  • Moses Masika
  • Omu Anzala
  • Matilu Mwau
  • Taane G. Clark
  • John Waitumbi
  • Jesse Gitaka

Genomic surveillance and identification of COVID-19 outbreaks are important in understanding the genetic diversity, phylogeny, and lineages of SARS-CoV-2. Genomic surveillance provides insights into circulating infections, and the robustness and design of vaccines and other infection control approaches. We sequenced 57 SARS-CoV-2 isolates from a Kenyan clinical population, of which 55 passed quality checks using the Ultrafast Sample placement on the Existing tRee (UShER) workflow. Phylo-genome-temporal analyses across two regions in Kenya (Nairobi and Kiambu County) revealed that B.1.1.7 (Alpha; n = 32, 56.1%) and B.1 (n = 9, 15.8%) were the predominant lineages, exhibiting low Ct values (5–31) suggesting high infectivity, and variant mutations across the two regions. Lineages B.1.617.2, B.1.1, A.23.1, A.2.5.1, B.1.596, A, and B.1.405 were also detected across sampling sites within target populations. The lineages and genetic isolates were traced back to China (A), Costa Rica (A.2.5.1), Europe (B.1, B.1.1, A.23.1), the USA (B.1.405, B.1.596), South Africa (B.1.617.2), and the United Kingdom (B.1.1.7), indicating multiple introduction events. This study represents one of the genomic SARS-CoV-2 epidemiology studies in the Nairobi metropolitan area, and describes the importance of continued surveillance for pandemic control.

Original languageEnglish
Article number627
JournalBMC Genomics
Volume23
Issue number1
Number of pages8
ISSN1471-2164
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2022

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© 2022, The Author(s).

    Research areas

  • Genomics, SARS-CoV-2, Surveillance, Vaccine, Variant

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