The rollout in the region’s clinical laboratories of so-called “screening” RT-PCR tests capable of detecting the new variant known as the “British” variant (20I/501Y.V1, UK) and the new variants known as the “South African” (20H/501Y.V2, ZA) and “Brazilian” (20J/501Y.V3, BR) variants, continues
.

Surveillance of the viral circulation of SARS-CoV-2 variants is now conducted, on the one hand, through flash surveys carried out by Santé publique France, the National Reference Center (CNR) for Acute Respiratory Infections and a network of volunteer clinical laboratories—both hospital-based and community-based—from various regions, including the Grand Est region; and secondly, through the results of screening tests performed by clinical laboratories, which are entered into the screening system (SIDEP). Since mid-May 2020, this system has enabled monitor viral circulation.

Preliminary results from the second FLASH survey, conducted on January 27 and now available for a sample of positive specimens from six CLS in the Grand Est region, confirm that as of that date:

• 14.2% of new SARS-CoV-2 infections diagnosed by participating medical biology laboratories in the Grand Est region corresponded to a suspected 20I/501Y.V1 (UK) variant. These suspected cases are currently undergoing genotyping for confirmation.

• 23.7% of new SARS-CoV-2 infections analyzed through screening corresponded to one of the three variants of interest (UK, ZA, and BR). These samples are now also undergoing genotyping for confirmation.

Furthermore, as of February 12, based on results reported by medical biology laboratories in the Grand Est region, Santé publique France recorded 10,831 screening tests, of which 3,809 corresponded to samples collected since the beginning of the week (Figure). Among these, the breakdown is as follows:

• 1,755 correspond to suspected 20I/501Y.V1 (UK) variants - (16.2%)

• 1,053 correspond to suspected variants 20H/501Y.V2 (ZA) or 20J/501Y.V3 (BR) - (9.7%)

Figure: Weekly trend in the number of people who have undergone screening and the number of tests corresponding to suspected variants (UK and ZA/BR). Grand Est (source: SIDEP, data extracted on 02/12/21)

The geographic distribution of these suspected variants reveals a concerning circulation of the ZA/BR variant in the Moselle department (767 suspected cases), and to a lesser extent—though screening techniques have been deployed there more recently—in Meurthe-et-Moselle (104 suspected cases) and Haut-Rhin (83 suspected cases).

Table: Number of screening tests performed and number of suspected UK and ZA/BR variants by department. Grand Est (source: SIDEP, data extracted on 02/12/21)