SARS-CoV-2 Iota variant

Iota variant,[1] also known as lineage B.1.526, is one of the variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. It was first detected in New York City in November 2020. The variant has appeared with two notable mutations: the E484K spike mutation, which may help the virus evade antibodies, and the S477N mutation, which helps the virus bind more tightly to human cells.[2]

By February 2021, it had spread rapidly in the New York region and accounted for about one in four viral sequences.[3][4] By 11 April 2021, the variant had been detected in at least 48 U.S. states and 18 countries.[5][6]

Under the simplified naming scheme proposed by the World Health Organization, B.1.526 has been labeled Iota variant, and is considered a variant of interest (VOI), but not yet a variant of concern.[7]

Mutations

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The Iota (B.1.526) genome contains the following amino-acid mutations, all of which are in the virus's spike protein code: L5F, T95I, D253G, E484K, D614G and A701V.[8]

History

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The increase of the Iota variant was captured by researchers at Caltech by scanning for mutations in a database known as GISAID, a global science initiative that has documented over 700,000 genomic sequences of SARS-CoV-2.[10][11]

The proportion of USA cases represented by the Iota variant had declined sharply by the end of July 2021 as the Delta variant became dominant.[12]

Statistics

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Cases by country (Updated as of 16 January 2024) GISAID[13]
Country Confirmed cases Last Reported Case
  USA 45,985 24 June 2021
  Ecuador 168 10 June 2021
  Canada 158
  Spain 119 17 June 2021
  Colombia 115 24 May 2021
  Aruba 103 10 June 2021
  Germany 56 22 June 2021
  Mexico 50 11 June 2021
  United Kingdom 43 16 May 2021
  Sint Maarten 17 27 May 2021
  Ireland 13 7 May 2021
   Switzerland 12 17 May 2021
  Chile 11 12 May 2021
  Denmark 9 31 May 2021
  Israel 9 26 April 2021
  Suriname 9 10 May 2021
  Argentina 8 26 April 2021
  Belgium 8 18 April 2021
  Dominican Republic 8 10 June 2021
  France 8 25 May 2021
  Lithuania 8 28 May 2021
  Singapore 7 4 April 2021
  Australia 6 21 May 2021
  Italy 6 4 May 2021
  Luxembourg 6 5 March 2021
  Costa Rica 5 21 May 2021
  Netherlands 5 19 April 2021
  Russia 5 4 June 2021
  Croatia 4 9 February 2021
  Japan 4 7 May 2021
  South Korea 4 14 April 2021
  Sweden 4 14 May 2021
  Turkey 4 4 May 2021
  Malta 4 21 December 2020
  India 3 24 March 2021
  Dominica 3 15 January 2021
  Slovenia 3 18 May 2021
  Austria 2 22 April 2021
  Ghana 2 20 March 2021
  Grenada 2 17 January 2021
  Indonesia 2 8 January 2021
  Jamaica 2 2 February 2021
  Liberia 2 14 May 2021
  Portugal 2 4 March 2021
  Romania 2 17 April 2021
  Anguilla 1 21 April 2021
  Antigua and Barbuda 1 3 May 2021
  British Virgin Islands 1 25 January 2021
  Cayman Islands 1 15 April 2021
  China 1
  Curacao 1 30 April 2021
  Finland 1 14 March 2021
  Guadeloupe 1 9 March 2021
  New Zealand 1 16 March 2021
  Poland 1 31 March 2021
  Turks and Caicos Islands 1 22 March 2021
  Venezuela 1 8 May 2021
 World (57 countries) Total: 46,589 Total as of 11 August 2021

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Tracking SARS-CoV-2 variants". www.who.int. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  2. ^ Barton, Michael I; MacGowan, Stuart A; Kutuzov, Mikhail A; Dushek, Omer; Barton, Geoffrey John; van der Merwe, P Anton (August 26, 2021). Fouchier, Ron AM; Van der Meer, Jos W; Fouchier, Ron AM (eds.). "Effects of common mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 Spike RBD and its ligand, the human ACE2 receptor on binding affinity and kinetics". eLife. 10: e70658. doi:10.7554/eLife.70658. ISSN 2050-084X. PMC 8480977. PMID 34435953.
  3. ^ Rosa-Aquino, Matt Stieb, Paola (March 21, 2021). "Everything We Know About the Coronavirus Variant Spreading in New York City". Intelligencer. Retrieved April 10, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ Mandavilli, Apoorva (February 24, 2021). "A New Coronavirus Variant Is Spreading in New York, Researchers Report". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
  5. ^ "outbreak.info". outbreak.info. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
  6. ^ "PANGO lineages Lineage B.1.526". cov-lineages.org. April 22, 2021. Archived from the original on April 22, 2021. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  7. ^ "Tracking SARS-CoV-2 variants". www.who.int. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  8. ^ "SARS-CoV-2 Variant Classifications and Definitions". CDC.gov. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. February 11, 2020. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  9. ^ "Spike Variants: Iota variant, aka B.1.526". covdb.stanford.edu. Stanford University Coronavirus Antiviral & Resistance Database. July 1, 2021. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  10. ^ Corum, Jonathan; Zimmer, Carl (February 9, 2021). "Coronavirus Variants and Mutations". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
  11. ^ West, Anthony P.; Barnes, Christopher O.; Yang, Zhi; Bjorkman, Pamela J. (February 23, 2021). "SARS-CoV-2 lineage B.1.526 emerging in the New York region detected by software utility created to query the spike mutational landscape". bioRxiv: 2021.02.14.431043. doi:10.1101/2021.02.14.431043. PMC 8077570. PMID 33907745. S2CID 231981267.
  12. ^ SARS-CoV-2 sequences by variant, Jul 26, 2021, USA Our World in Data
  13. ^ "GISAID - hCov19 Variants". www.gisaid.org. Retrieved July 2, 2021.