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Lee TY, Lim WF, Ang GY, Yu CY. Genomic Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in Malaysia during the Era of Endemic COVID-19. Life (Basel) 2023; 13:1644. [PMID: 37629505 PMCID: PMC10455073 DOI: 10.3390/life13081644] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2023] [Revised: 07/09/2023] [Accepted: 07/10/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023] Open
Abstract
On 5 May 2023, WHO declared the end of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as a public health emergency of international concern. However, the risk of new severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants causing rapid and high surges in cases and deaths remained. In Malaysia, five COVID-19 waves during the pandemic phase were well characterized, but similar studies focusing on the endemic phase were lacking. Hence, we retrieved 14,965 SARS-CoV-2 genomic sequences from the GISAID EpiCoV database for clade, lineage, and phylogenetic analysis in order to provide an insight into the population dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 that circulated in Malaysia from June 2022 to April 2023. The dominance of the Omicron variants was observed, and two new waves of infections driven by BA.5.2 and XBB.1, respectively, were detected. Data as of April 2023 also pointed to a possible eighth wave driven by XBB.1.9. Although new variants associated with higher transmissibility were behind the multiple surges, these subsequent waves had lower intensities as compared to the fourth and fifth waves. The on-going circulation and evolution of SARS-CoV-2 mean that COVID-19 still poses a serious threat, necessitating active genomic surveillance for early warning of potential new variants of concern.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tze Yan Lee
- School of Liberal Arts, Science and Technology (PUScLST), Perdana University, Kuala Lumpur 50490, Malaysia
| | - Wai Feng Lim
- Sunway Medical Centre, Bandar Sunway, Subang Jaya 47500, Malaysia;
| | - Geik Yong Ang
- Faculty of Sports Science and Recreation, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam 40450, Malaysia;
| | - Choo Yee Yu
- Laboratory of Vaccine and Biomolecules, Institute of Bioscience, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Malaysia
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Yu CY, Wong SY, Liew NWC, Joseph N, Zakaria Z, Nurulfiza I, Soe HJ, Kairon R, Amin-Nordin S, Chee HY. Whole genome sequencing analysis of SARS-CoV-2 from Malaysia: From alpha to Omicron. Front Med (Lausanne) 2022; 9:1001022. [PMID: 36213636 PMCID: PMC9537942 DOI: 10.3389/fmed.2022.1001022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2022] [Accepted: 09/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Countries around the world are gearing for the transition of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) from pandemic to endemic phase but the emergence of new severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants could lead to a prolonged pandemic. SARS-CoV-2 has continued to evolve as it optimizes its adaptation to the human host and the successive waves of COVID-19 have been linked to the explosion of particular variant of concern. As the genetic diversity and epidemiological landscape of SARS-CoV-2 differ from country to country, this study aims to provide insights into the variants that are circulating in Malaysia. Whole genome sequencing was performed for 204 SARS-CoV-2 from COVID-19 cases and an additional 18,667 SARS-CoV-2 genome sequences were retrieved from the GISAID EpiCoV database for clade, lineage and genetic variation analyses. Complete genome sequences with high coverage were then used for phylogeny investigation and the resulting phylogenetic tree was constructed from 8,716 sequences. We found that the different waves of COVID-19 in Malaysia were dominated by different clades with the L and O clade for first and second wave, respectively, whereas the progressive replacement by G, GH, and GK of the GRA clade were observed in the subsequence waves. Continuous monitoring of the genetic diversity of SARS-CoV-2 is important to identify the emergence and dominance of new variant in different locality so that the appropriate countermeasures can be taken to effectively contain the spread of SARS-CoV-2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Choo Yee Yu
- Laboratory of Vaccine and Biomolecules, Institute of Bioscience, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia
| | - Sie Yeng Wong
- Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia
| | - Nancy Woan Charn Liew
- Laboratory of Vaccine and Biomolecules, Institute of Bioscience, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia
| | - Narcisse Joseph
- Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia
| | - Zunita Zakaria
- Institute of Bioscience, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia
- Department of Veterinary Pathology and Microbiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia
| | - Isa Nurulfiza
- Laboratory of Vaccine and Biomolecules, Institute of Bioscience, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia
| | | | | | - Syafinaz Amin-Nordin
- Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia
| | - Hui Yee Chee
- Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia
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