Recently, the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)
resulted in Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak. A new SARS-CoV-2
strain is expected to emerge in late 2020, including B.1.1.7. The high transmission
rate of SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 has raised public health concerns in several countries.
Hence, in this study, we assessed the sequencing of SARS-COV2 to reveals the
prevalence of the SARS-CoV-2 Alpha variant (B 1.1.7) in Egypt. We found that
the viral transmission of the alpha variant is expanding. Moreover, based on
hospitalizations and case fatality rates, there is a potential for increasing severity.
There was no effect on susceptibility to Emergency Use Authorization monoclonal
antibody treatments. However, there was minimal impact on neutralization by
convalescent and post-vaccination sera. Samples have been clustered into the 20D
sub clade for the majority of them. The eight samples shown in our study are
considered the first recorded samples with the Alpha variant in Egypt. Therefore,
The Egyptian government, represented by the Ministry of Health, must take all
measures to examine the compatibility of the currently used vaccines with this new strain and the feasibility of the treatment protocol presently used with such strains
developed in the Arab Republic of Egypt.
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