CONTINUING EDUCATION :: COVID-19 UPDATE
Figure 1. SARS-CoV-2 expanded lineage data over time from a cohort of outpatient participants in Los Angeles County and Riverside County, California, May 27, 2021 to January 1, 2022 (n= 820)
rate manner. Surveillance programs are needed to monitor SARS-CoV-2 variants to inform public health efforts. With the development of new genomic sequencing tools, it is possible for genomic data to be used to inform those public health responses. The World Health Organization proposed that a strong and resilient global sequencing network that provides useable and timely results is needed to maximize the public health impact of sequencing.22 The identification of new SARS-CoV-2 variants in a timely manner is critical to public health. While it is hard to prog- nosticate the future, it is possible to establish a method to prioritize research when new mutations are discovered on genetic coding segments of key proteins, like the SARS- CoV-2 spike protein.23,24
Faster identification of new SARS-
CoV-2 variants of concern and understanding the rates in their change of prevalence could be critical predictors of new waves of SARS-CoV-2 and met with changes in public health recommendations. This study demonstrates that private clinical laboratories may play a role in the surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern. The sheer number of people who have been infected and the total SARS-CoV-2 infected person-time has led to the rapid evolution of SARS-CoV-2. Local epidemics of populous areas creates a situation in which many new mutations can form due to the large amount of viral spread over a short period of time. Additionally, there are many reports of SARS-CoV-2 detected among many animal species that closely interact with people, which may become reservoirs of infection and future spillover events.25
10 JUNE 2022
MLO-ONLINE.COM
Animal reservoirs As long as SARS-CoV-2 infections persist, SARS-CoV-2 will continue to mutate, and new variants of concern will arise. So far, farmed mink and pet hamsters have been shown to be capable of infecting humans with SARS-CoV-2.26
SARS-CoV-2 has also
been identified among many domestic and wild animal species, e.g., bats, hamsters, ferrets, minks, cats, white-tailed deer, apes, and pigs.25
There is evidence that SARS-CoV-2 can be spread
among various animal species and between animal species.27,28 Some research suggests that spillback of SARS-CoV-2 into other animal species has been observed with accelerating fre- quency with concerns of rapid adaption that may hasten viral evolution and novel strain emergence.29
Bashor, et al. observed
rapid selection of SARS-CoV-2 variants in vitro and in vivo studies using cell-expanded SARS-CoV-2 inoculum and viruses recov- ered from cats, dogs, hamsters, and a ferret following experiment exposure. However, it is not clear how these animal reservoirs will contribute to endemic SARS-CoV-2 infections, mutation of new clinically significant variants of concern, or the risk of zoonotic spread. Given the severity of the pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2, it seems prudent to not only monitor animal species known to harbor SARS-CoV-2 for presence of virus, but also for potentially dangerous mutations that could develop into new variants of concern.
Tracking future variants into the endemic phase After the wave caused by Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 subsided, there has been a lower global prevalence of SARS- CoV-2 and many countries have rolled back public health
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