March 10, 2021

Transmission Infectivity and Antibody Neutralization of an Emerging SARS-CoV-2 Variant in California Carrying a L452R Spike Protein Mutation

Category: Article Summary

Topic: Transmission

Keywords (Tags): transmission, variants

• [Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] Whole genome sequencing of 2,172 remnant nasal/nasopharyngeal swab samples from 44 counties in California identified a novel SARS-CoV-2 variant characterized by three mutations in the spike protein named B.1.427/B.1.429 or 20C/L452R. This variant emerged around May 2020, and by January 29, 2021 represented >50% of sequenced cases, exhibiting an estimated 19-24% increase in transmissibility relative to circulating wild-type strains. Antibody neutralization assays showed 4.0-6.7-fold decreases in neutralizing titers from convalescent patients and 2.0-fold decreases in vaccine recipients.

Deng et al. (Mar 9, 2021). Transmission Infectivity and Antibody Neutralization of an Emerging SARS-CoV-2 Variant in California Carrying a L452R Spike Protein Mutation. Pre-print downloaded Mar 10 from https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.03.07.21252647