Introduction of Sars-cov-2 C.37 (who Voi Lambda) in the Sao Paulo State, Southeast Brazil

Kashima, Simone; Slavov, Svetoslav Nanev; Giovanetti, Marta; Rodrigues, Evandra Strazza; Patané, José Salvatore Leister; Viala, Vincent Louis; Santos, Elaine Vieira; Evaristo, Mariane; Lima, Loyze Paola Oliveira de; Martins, Antonio Jorge; Barros, Claudia Renata Dos Santos; Marqueze, Elaine Cristina; Garibaldi, Pedro M M; Ferreira, Natasha N; Moraes, Glenda R; Brassaloti, Ricardo Augusto; Cassano, Raquel de Lello Rocha Campos; Mariani, Pilar Drummond Sampaio Corrêa; Kitajima, João Paulo; Schlesinger, David; Bezerra, Rafael Dos Santos; Assato, Patricia Akemi; Costa, Felipe Allan da Silva da; Poleti, Mirele Daiana; Lesbon, Jessika Cristina Chagas; Mattos, Elisangela Chicaroni; Banho, Cecilia Artico; Sacchetto, Lívia; Grotto, Rejane Maria Tommasini; Souza-Neto, Jayme A; Fonseca, Vagner; Alcantara, Luiz Carlos Junior de; Nogueira, Maurício Lacerda; Fukumasu, Heidge; Coutinho, Luiz Lehmann; Borges, Marcos; Calado, Rodrigo Tocantins; Elias, Maria Carolina; Sampaio, Sandra Coccuzzo; Covas, Dimas Tadeu

The Lambda VOI (C37/GR/452Q.V1/21G) was initially reported in Lima, Peru but has gained rapid dissemination through other Latin American countries. Nevertheless, the dissemination and molecular epidemiology of the Lambda VOI in Brazil is unknown apart from a single case report. In this respect, we characterized the circulation of the SARS-CoV-2 Lambda VOI (C37/GR/452Q.V1/21G) in the Sao Paulo State, Brazil. From March to June, 2021 we identified seven Lambda isolates in a set of ~8,000 newly sequenced genomes of the Network for Pandemic Alert of Emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants from Sao Paulo State. Interestingly, in three of the positive patients the Lambda VOI infection was probably related to a contact transmission. These individuals were fully vaccinated to COVID-19 and presented mild symptoms. The remaining positive for Lambda VOI individuals showed different levels of COVID-19 symptoms and one of them needed hospitalization (score 5, WHO). In our study, we present low level of Lambda VOI circulation in the Sao Paulo State. This reinforces the essential role of molecular surveillance for the effective SARS-CoV-2 pandemic response, especially in regards to circulating variants. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.