SARS-CoV-2 genome variations and evolution patterns in Egypt: a multicenter study

The research which is performed in cooperation between the genomics unit in Children’s Cancer Hospital Egypt 57357’s genomics department, Kasr Al-Aini Hospital, and Egypt Center for Research and Regenerative Medicine (ECCRM) aims to identify SARS-Cov-2 virus variations in Egypt, to contribute to the understanding of the virus and how it spread. In this study, 110 diagnosed positive COVID-19 patient’s samples were collected from Kasr Al-Aini Hospital and the Children’s Cancer Hospital Egypt 57357 between May 2020 and January 2021, covering the first and second waves of the pandemic, with clinical severity ranging from mild to severe. According to Dr. Deena Jalal, genomics lab researcher, the spike protein mutation D614G was found in the majority of the sequenced samples. In addition, four mutations of the virus were identified to be associated with higher disease severity. Several groups of co-occurring mutations in various proteins in the viral genome were identified. Overall, the study contributes with genetic and clinical correlation data about the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in Egypt.