The Ómicron variant has not yet been detected in samples collected in the Algarve or Alentejo, according to genetic sequencing data made available this Tuesday, December 14, by the Doctor Ricardo Jorge National Health Institute (INSA) and consulted by Sul Informação.
In the national whole, Portugal registers 69 cases of the Ómicron variant, with the latest data revealing a «trend strongly indicative of the existence of community circulation», advanced the INSA.
"To date, a total of 69 cases of the Omicron variant have been identified by targeted mutation search and/or viral genome sequencing," says the INSA report on the genetic diversity of SARS-CoV-2, which causes Covid disease -19.
According to the institute, within the scope of real-time monitoring of the "failure" in the detection of the S gene, which allows the identification of the Ómicron variant, carried out in collaboration with several laboratories, it was possible to gather data for the period from 25 November to 12 from December.
"This analysis points to an increasing trend in the proportion of positive cases with S gene failure since the 6th of December, reaching a relative frequency of 9.5% on the 12th," the report said.
According to INSA, this trend, particularly that observed in the last three days, is "strongly indicative of the existence of community circulation of the Ómicron variant in this period, in strong parallel with the scenario observed in other countries" that are using the same approach for surveillance of this variant, the case of Denmark and the United Kingdom.
This new variant, classified as “worrying” by the World Health Organization (WHO), has been detected in southern Africa, but since the South African health authorities raised the alert on 24 November, infections have been reported in more than 60 countries from all continents, including Portugal.
Today's data from the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) indicate that in the last 24 hours there were 441 more infections by this variant in the countries of the European Union and the European Economic Area (EU/EEA), raising for a total of 2.127 confirmed cases so far, all asymptomatic or with mild symptoms of Covid-19.
To identify Ómicron, different strategies are being implemented in Portugal, including the analysis of weekly random sampling by genome sequencing, the investigation of samples of suspected cases and the real-time monitoring of the “failure” in the detection of the S gene, one of the laboratory criteria used to identify cases of the variant.
Regarding the Delta variant, in the period between 15 and 28 November, the INSA recorded a prevalence of close to 100%, with several sublines in circulation in Portugal, 33 of which were detected consecutively in the last three weeks with closed sampling and completed analyses.
The institute points out that Delta's discrimination in sublines does not indicate that they present greater transmissibility, association with severe disease or greater capacity to evade the immune system.
With regard to sublines with the mutation of interest E484Q, in the last samples there were cases that point to the recent occurrence of at least three outbreaks not related to each other in the districts of Évora and Porto and in the Autonomous Region of the Azores.
The occurrence of mutations at position 484 of the protein spike in the Delta variant has been rare, but is the target of close monitoring internationally given its potential resistance to neutralizing antibodies and its association with other variants of concern such as Beta, Gamma and Omicron.
As part of the continuous monitoring of the genetic diversity of SARS-CoV-2, the INSA has already analyzed 23.068 sequences of the genome of the coronavirus, obtained from samples collected in more than 100 laboratories, hospitals and institutions, representing 303 municipalities in Portugal.
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