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GENOMIC EPIDEMIOLOGY OF THE MAIN SARS-CoV-2 VARIANTS CIRCULATING IN ITALY DURING THE OMICRON ERA
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  • Annalisa Bergna,
  • A. Lai,
  • Fabio Sagradi,
  • Stefano Menzo,
  • Nicasio Mancini,
  • Bianca Bruzzone,
  • Stefano Rusconi,
  • Greta Marchegiani,
  • Nicola Clementi,
  • Daniela Francisci,
  • Ilaria Vicenti,
  • Silvia Ronchiadin,
  • Harcel Djaya Mbissam,
  • Carla Della Ventura,
  • Leonardo Lanfranchi,
  • Sophie Testa,
  • Sara Caucci,
  • Carla Acciarri,
  • Luca Carioti,
  • Alessandro Occhionero,
  • Federica Novazzi,
  • Angelo Genoni,
  • Francesca Drago Ferrante,
  • Vanessa De Pace,
  • Monica Ferraris,
  • Matilde Ogliastro,
  • Arianna Gabrieli,
  • Massimo De Paschale,
  • Giada Canavesi,
  • Maria Concetta Bellocchi,
  • Marco Iannetta,
  • Loredana Sarmati,
  • F. Ceccherini-Silberstein,
  • Agostino Riva,
  • Spinello Antinori,
  • Gianguglielmo Zehender
Annalisa Bergna
Universita degli Studi di Milano Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche e Cliniche Luigi Sacco
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A. Lai
Universita degli Studi di Milano Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche e Cliniche Luigi Sacco

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Fabio Sagradi
Azienda Socio Sanitaria Territoriale di Cremona
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Stefano Menzo
Universita Politecnica delle Marche Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche e Sanita Pubblica
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Nicasio Mancini
Universita degli Studi dell'Insubria
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Bianca Bruzzone
IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino
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Stefano Rusconi
Universita degli Studi di Milano Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche e Cliniche Luigi Sacco
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Greta Marchegiani
Universita degli Studi di Roma Tor Vergata Dipartimento di Medicina Sperimentale
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Nicola Clementi
Universita Vita Salute San Raffaele
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Daniela Francisci
Azienda Ospedaliera di Perugia
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Ilaria Vicenti
Universita degli Studi di Siena Dipartimento di Biotecnologie Mediche
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Silvia Ronchiadin
Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center
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Harcel Djaya Mbissam
Universita degli Studi di Milano Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche e Cliniche Luigi Sacco
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Carla Della Ventura
Universita degli Studi di Milano Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche e Cliniche Luigi Sacco
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Leonardo Lanfranchi
Azienda Socio Sanitaria Territoriale di Cremona
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Sophie Testa
Azienda Socio Sanitaria Territoriale di Cremona
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Sara Caucci
Universita Politecnica delle Marche Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche e Sanita Pubblica
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Carla Acciarri
Universita Politecnica delle Marche Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche e Sanita Pubblica
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Luca Carioti
Universita degli Studi di Roma Tor Vergata Dipartimento di Medicina Sperimentale
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Alessandro Occhionero
Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria delle Marche
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Federica Novazzi
Universita degli Studi dell'Insubria
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Angelo Genoni
Universita degli Studi dell'Insubria
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Francesca Drago Ferrante
Universita degli Studi dell'Insubria
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Vanessa De Pace
IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino
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Monica Ferraris
IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino
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Matilde Ogliastro
Universita degli Studi di Genova Dipartimento di Scienze della Salute
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Arianna Gabrieli
Universita degli Studi di Milano Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche e Cliniche Luigi Sacco
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Massimo De Paschale
Ospedale Nuovo di Legnano
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Giada Canavesi
Ospedale Nuovo di Legnano
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Maria Concetta Bellocchi
Universita degli Studi di Roma Tor Vergata Dipartimento di Medicina Sperimentale
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Marco Iannetta
Universita degli Studi di Roma Tor Vergata Dipartimento di Medicina dei Sistemi
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Loredana Sarmati
Universita degli Studi di Roma Tor Vergata Dipartimento di Medicina dei Sistemi
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F. Ceccherini-Silberstein
Universita degli Studi di Roma Tor Vergata Dipartimento di Medicina Sperimentale
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Agostino Riva
Universita degli Studi di Milano Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche e Cliniche Luigi Sacco
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Spinello Antinori
Universita degli Studi di Milano Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche e Cliniche Luigi Sacco
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Gianguglielmo Zehender
Universita degli Studi di Milano Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche e Cliniche Luigi Sacco
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Abstract

Since early 2022 the Omicron variant has rapidly spread worldwide, becoming the dominant variant to date. The study aimed to investigate the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of COVID-19 patients and to reconstruct the genomic epidemiology of main SARS-CoV-2 Omicron sub-lineages in Italy in 2022. 8,970 SARS-CoV-2 samples were studied, and phylogenetic analyses were focused on BA.1, BA.2 and BA.5 sub-variants. More than half of subjects received three doses of vaccine and experienced a reinfection. A significant larger proportion of unvaccinated subjects presented reinfection compared to vaccinated. Clusters presented a tMRCA between September-November 2021 (BA.1), November 2021-January 2022 (BA.2) and October 2021-May 2022 (BA.5). R e values showed the highest level between September-October, January-February 2022, and May 2022 for BA.1, BA.2 and BA.5, respectively. Limited number of studied variant sequences are included in clusters. The analyses dissect the epidemiological dynamics of Omicron sub-lineages in Italy over a period of great epidemiological changes in the COVID-19 epidemic. The spread rate of the studied variant exceeded its evolutionary rate. No single sub-lineage had sufficient time to differentiate into large clusters, but only into small and fragmented groups sharing the same recent ancestor. These analyses dissect the epidemiological dynamics of Omicron sub-lineages in Italy over a period of great epidemiological changes in the COVID-19 epidemic.
25 Jul 2024Submitted to Journal of Medical Virology
26 Jul 2024Submission Checks Completed
26 Jul 2024Assigned to Editor
26 Jul 2024Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
11 Aug 2024Reviewer(s) Assigned
07 Oct 2024Editorial Decision: Revise Major
08 Nov 20241st Revision Received
12 Nov 2024Submission Checks Completed
12 Nov 2024Assigned to Editor
12 Nov 2024Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
17 Nov 2024Reviewer(s) Assigned