The role of UAE in supporting COVID-19 genomic surveillance across the
EMRO for complex emergency countries
Abstract
Introduction The Eastern Mediterranean region was highly exposed to
COVID-19 due to diverse challenges and lack of laboratory resources and
relevant expertise in these countries limited the quality of detection
and surveillance of circulating strains. UAE, through the Reference
Laboratory for Infectious Disease-Abu Dhabi (RLID-AD), played a central
role in providing genomic support to these countries. Methods SARS-CoV-2
samples were transported to RLID-AD with support from WHO/EMRO, then
sequenced primarily using the Midnight workflow and GridION from Oxford
Nanopore Technology and the data were analysed using the CLC platform
from Qiagen, and lineages assigned using Pangolin. Results Between April
2021 and March 2022, RLID-AD received 170 COVID-19 samples from Syria,
Yemen and Lebanon for genomic analysis. Of these , 159 were successfully
sequenced (93.5%) with >90% coverage and 30x depth, with
lineages being successfully assigned through Pangolin. The lineages
discovered were predominantly alpha, beta, and delta variants, largely
consistent with the global waves at the time. Turnaround time from
receipt at the lab to result sharing with member states was 2-3 weeks.
Conclusion The implementation of a hub-and-spoke model for sequencing
support was a key aspect to the COVID-19 response in the EMRO region.
UAE played a critical role in supporting genomics surveillance in the
region, despite the logistic challenges faced with transport and
importing of samples to UAE. The challenges faced during COVID19
pandemic clearly demonstrates the need for implementation of
national-level sequencing laboratories that contribute data to the
region, with hubs acting in technical and emergency support.