Alliance for Pandemic Preparedness

April 8, 2021

S-Gene Target Failure as a Marker of Variant B.1.1.7 Among SARS-CoV-2 Isolates in the Greater Toronto Area, December 2020 to March 2021

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  • The B.1.1.7 SARS-CoV-2 variant (first described in the UK) rapidly became the dominant circulating strain in the greater Toronto, Canada area between December 2020 and March 2021. Based on PCR S-gene target failure, which is strongly associated with the B.1.1.7 variant, 2% of samples were inferred to be the B.1.1.7 variant in mid-December 2020, which increased to 75% by March 31, 2021.

Brown et al. (Apr 8, 2021). S-Gene Target Failure as a Marker of Variant B.1.1.7 Among SARS-CoV-2 Isolates in the Greater Toronto Area, December 2020 to March 2021. JAMA. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2021.5607