ORCID Profile
0000-0003-3395-820X
Current Organisation
Northumbria University
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Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 27-12-0001
DOI: 10.1038/S41586-021-04069-Y
Abstract: The evolution of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus leads to new variants that warrant timely epidemiological characterization. Here we use the dense genomic surveillance data generated by the COVID-19 Genomics UK Consortium to reconstruct the dynamics of 71 different lineages in each of 315 English local authorities between September 2020 and June 2021. This analysis reveals a series of subepidemics that peaked in early autumn 2020, followed by a jump in transmissibility of the B.1.1.7/Alpha lineage. The Alpha variant grew when other lineages declined during the second national lockdown and regionally tiered restrictions between November and December 2020. A third more stringent national lockdown suppressed the Alpha variant and eliminated nearly all other lineages in early 2021. Yet a series of variants (most of which contained the spike E484K mutation) defied these trends and persisted at moderately increasing proportions. However, by accounting for sustained introductions, we found that the transmissibility of these variants is unlikely to have exceeded the transmissibility of the Alpha variant. Finally, B.1.617.2/Delta was repeatedly introduced in England and grew rapidly in early summer 2021, constituting approximately 98% of s led SARS-CoV-2 genomes on 26 June 2021.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 05-02-2021
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2021
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 04-01-2021
DOI: 10.1101/2020.12.30.20249034
Abstract: The SARS-CoV-2 lineage B.1.1.7, now designated Variant of Concern 202012/01 (VOC) by Public Health England, originated in the UK in late Summer to early Autumn 2020. We examine epidemiological evidence for this VOC having a transmission advantage from several perspectives. First, whole genome sequence data collected from community-based diagnostic testing provides an indication of changing prevalence of different genetic variants through time. Phylodynamic modelling additionally indicates that genetic ersity of this lineage has changed in a manner consistent with exponential growth. Second, we find that changes in VOC frequency inferred from genetic data correspond closely to changes inferred by S-gene target failures (SGTF) in community-based diagnostic PCR testing. Third, we examine growth trends in SGTF and non-SGTF case numbers at local area level across England, and show that the VOC has higher transmissibility than non-VOC lineages, even if the VOC has a different latent period or generation time. Available SGTF data indicate a shift in the age composition of reported cases, with a larger share of under 20 year olds among reported VOC than non-VOC cases. Fourth, we assess the association of VOC frequency with independent estimates of the overall SARS-CoV-2 reproduction number through time. Finally, we fit a semi-mechanistic model directly to local VOC and non-VOC case incidence to estimate the reproduction numbers over time for each. There is a consensus among all analyses that the VOC has a substantial transmission advantage, with the estimated difference in reproduction numbers between VOC and non-VOC ranging between 0.4 and 0.7, and the ratio of reproduction numbers varying between 1.4 and 1.8. We note that these estimates of transmission advantage apply to a period where high levels of social distancing were in place in England extrapolation to other transmission contexts therefore requires caution.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 25-03-2021
DOI: 10.1038/S41586-021-03470-X
Abstract: The SARS-CoV-2 lineage B.1.1.7, designated variant of concern (VOC) 202012/01 by Public Health England
Publisher: FapUNIFESP (SciELO)
Date: 2022
DOI: 10.1590/S1678-3921.PAB2022.V57.01414
Abstract: Abstract The objective of this work was to identify microbial communities associated with the surfaces of alkali feldspars and to determine whether these microbes might be involved in the weathering of these rocks for agronomic benefit. S les were taken from weathering profiles and soils developed on a syenite, considered as a raw material for agromineral production, located in the municipality of Triunfo, in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil. Molecular microbiological techniques (qPCR and 16S rRNA gene sequencing) were used, and data were interpreted by the analysis of variance, hierarchical cluster analysis, and principal coordinates analysis. In addition, scanning electron microscopy was used to image mineral surfaces. Similar bacterial communities were observed in all s les, showing that the bacteria found in soil are present at the earliest stages of rock weathering and are available to play a role in nutrient release. In particular, Actinobacteria and, within this phylum, Actinomycetales were proportionally more abundant than other taxa in rock-dominated soil s les, i.e., in thin soils on or between fractured or broken syenite. The analysis of rock dust used as a remineralizer, crushed with no further treatment, shows that Actinobacteria play a role in the early stages of weathering of feldspar-bearing rocks.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 11-03-2021
DOI: 10.1038/S41586-021-03412-7
Abstract: Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is uncontrolled in many parts of the world control is compounded in some areas by the higher transmission potential of the B.1.1.7 variant
Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
No related grants have been discovered for Clare M McCann.