Abstract
The rapid spread of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variant of concern with higher infectivity has already resulted in the enormous increase in infection cases worldwide. We report an unrecognized introduction of the variant B.1.1.7 in Gabon in December 2020, which was the initial phase of the variant introduction to Africa. The B.1.1.7 variant was also detected in a hospitalized patient in January 2021, indicating a rapid spread of the variant in Gabon since its first detection. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the detected B.1.1.7 variants originated from the distinct regions, strongly suggesting that the B.1.1.7 variant had been repeatedly introduced to Gabon since December 2020. These results provide insights on the unrecognized risks of infections with variants of concern, and show the necessity to conduct continuous genomic monitoring for immediate alert and control of novel SARS-CoV-2 variant infections.
Keywords: Africa; Gabon; SARS-CoV-2; phylogeny; variant.
【저자키워드】 SARS-CoV-2, Africa, Phylogeny, Variant., Gabon, 【초록키워드】 coronavirus, Hospitalized, variant, SARS-CoV-2 variant, Infection, variants of concern, risk, severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus, variants, Spread, Phylogenetic analysis, infections, B.1.1.7 variant, B.1.1.7, Phylogeny, Patient, genomic, Analysis, Gabon, acute respiratory syndrome, acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus, acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, higher infectivity, B.1.1.7 variants, regions, initial, introduced, increase in, The B.1.1.7, 【제목키워드】 SARS-CoV-2 variant, Local, Transmission, African, early stage, import, spread to,