Early detection of the emerging SARS-CoV-2 BA.2.86 lineage through integrated genomic surveillance of wastewater and COVID-19 cases in Sweden, weeks 31 to 38 2023

Abstract

The SARS-CoV-2 BA.2.86 Omicron subvariant was first detected in wastewater in Sweden in week 31 2023, using 21 highly specific markers from the 50 investigated. We report BA.2.86's introduction and subsequent spread to all 14 regions performing wastewater sampling, and on 70 confirmed COVID-19 cases, along with the emergence of sublineages JN.1 and JN.2. Further, we investigated two novel mutations defining the unique BA.2.86 branching in Sweden. Our integrated approach enabled variant tracking, offering evidence for well-informed public health interventions.

Published in

Eurosurveillance
2023, volume: 28, number: 46, article number: 2300595

SLU Authors

• Vargas, Javier

  • Swedish Environmental Epidemiology Center (SEEC)

• Székely, Anna

  • Swedish Environmental Epidemiology Center (SEEC)

UKÄ Subject classification

Epidemiology
Public Health, Global Health and Social Medicine

Publication identifier

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.es.2023.28.46.2300595

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/127573