Timeline of SARS-CoV-2 Transmission in Sabah, Malaysia: Tracking the Molecular Evolution
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Published:2023-08-15
Issue:8
Volume:12
Page:1047
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ISSN:2076-0817
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Container-title:Pathogens
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language:en
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Short-container-title:Pathogens
Author:
Balakrishnan Krishnan Nair1, Yew Chee Wei1, Chong Eric Tzyy Jiann1ORCID, Daim Sylvia2, Mohamad Nurul Elyani1ORCID, Rodrigues Kenneth1, Lee Ping-Chin13ORCID
Affiliation:
1. Biotechnology Research Institute, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Jalan UMS, Kota Kinabalu 88400, Sabah, Malaysia 2. Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Jalan UMS, Kota Kinabalu 88400, Sabah, Malaysia 3. Faculty of Science and Natural Resources, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Jalan UMS, Kota Kinabalu 88400, Sabah, Malaysia
Abstract
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic poses an unprecedented public health challenge in Malaysia. The impact of COVID-19 varies between countries, including geographically divided states within a country. The deadly transmission of COVID-19 has taken a heavy toll in Sabah, Malaysia’s third most populous state, contributing nearly 10% to the recorded national death toll as of 31 December 2022. Although several SARS-CoV-2 genome sequences have been analysed in Malaysia, molecular epidemiology data from Sabah focusing on the diversity and evolution of SARS-CoV-2 variants are still lacking. This study examines the major SARS-CoV-2 variants and emerging mutations from Sabah, the Malaysian Borneo, which is geographically divided from West Malaysia by the South China Sea. Methods: A total of 583 COVID-19 samples were subjected to whole genome sequencing and analysed with an additional 1123 Sabah COVID-19 sequences retrieved from the GISAID EpiCoV consortium. Nextclade and Pangolin were used to classify these sequences according to the clades and lineages. To determine the molecular evolutionary characteristics, Bayesian time-scaled phylogenetic analysis employing the maximum likelihood algorithm was performed on selected SARS-CoV-2 genome sequences, using the Wuhan-Hu-1 sequence as a reference. Results: Sabah was affected starting from the second COVID-19 wave in Malaysia, and the early sequences were classified under the O clade. The clade was gradually replaced during subsequent waves by G, GH, GK and GRA, with the latter being dominant as of December 2022. Phylogenetically, the Delta isolates in this study belong to the three main subclades 21A, 21J and 21I, while Omicron isolates belong to 21M, 21L and 22B. The time-scaled phylogeny suggested that SARS-CoV-2 introduced into Sabah originated from Peninsular Malaysia in early March 2020, and phylodynamic analysis indicated that increased viral spread was observed in early March and declined in late April, followed by an evolutionary stationary phase in June 2020. Conclusion: Continuous molecular epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in Sabah will provide a deeper understanding of the emergence and dominance of each variant in the locality, thus facilitating public health intervention measures.
Funder
Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, Malaysia
Subject
Infectious Diseases,Microbiology (medical),General Immunology and Microbiology,Molecular Biology,Immunology and Allergy
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