Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40084424›Full record

ArticleEuro surveillance : bulletin Europeen sur les maladies transmissibles = European communicable disease bulletin2025

Quasi-species prevalence and clinical impact of evolving SARS-CoV-2 lineages in European COVID-19 cohorts, January 2020 to February 2022.

Matilda Berkell, Anna Górska, Mathias Smet, Delphine Bachelet, Elisa Gentilotti, Mariana Guedes, Anna Maria Franco-Yusti, Fulvia Mazzaferri, Erley Lizarazo Forero, Veerle Matheeussen and 15 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Euro surveillance : bulletin Europeen sur les maladies transmissibles = European communicable disease bulletin, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

25 authors.

Matilda BerkellLaboratory of Medical Microbiology, Vaccine & Infectious Disease Institute, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
Anna GórskaShared first author.
Mathias SmetLaboratory of Medical Microbiology, Vaccine & Infectious Disease Institute, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
Delphine BacheletShared first author.
Elisa GentilottiShared second author.
Mariana GuedesShared second author.
Anna Maria Franco-YustiShared second author.
Fulvia MazzaferriDivision of Infectious Diseases, Department of Diagnostics and Public Health, University of Verona, Verona, Italy.
Erley Lizarazo ForeroUniversity of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention, Groningen, The Netherlands.
Veerle MatheeussenLaboratory of Medical Microbiology, Vaccine & Infectious Disease Institute, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
Benoit VisseauxService de Virologie, AP-HP, Hôpital Bichat-Claude Bernard, Paris, France.
Zaira R Palacios-BaenaInfectious Diseases and Microbiology Unit, University Hospital Virgen Macarena, Department of Medicine, University of Seville, Biomedicine Institute of Seville/CSIC, Seville, Spain.
Natascia CarocciaInfectious Diseases Unit, Department for Integrated Infectious Risk Management, IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
Aline-Marie FlorenceUniversité Paris Cité and Université Sorbonne Paris Nord, Inserm, IAME, Paris, France.
Charlotte CharpentierUniversité Paris Cité and Université Sorbonne Paris Nord, Inserm, IAME, Paris, France.
Coretta van LeerUniversity of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention, Groningen, The Netherlands.
Maddalena GiannellaInfectious Diseases Unit, Department for Integrated Infectious Risk Management, IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
Alex W FriedrichUniversity of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention, Groningen, The Netherlands.
Jesús Rodríguez-BañoInfectious Diseases and Microbiology Unit, University Hospital Virgen Macarena, Department of Medicine, University of Seville, Biomedicine Institute of Seville/CSIC, Seville, Spain.
Jade GhosnAP-HP Nord, Hôpital Bichat, Department of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, Paris, France.
ORCHESTRA working groupThe members of the ORCHESTRA working group are listed under Collaborators.
Samir Kumar-SinghLaboratory of Medical Microbiology, Vaccine & Infectious Disease Institute, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
Cedric LaouénanUniversité Paris Cité and Université Sorbonne Paris Nord, Inserm, IAME, Paris, France.
Evelina TacconelliShared senior author.
Surbhi Malhotra-KumarLaboratory of Medical Microbiology, Vaccine & Infectious Disease Institute, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

BackgroundEvolution of SARS-CoV-2 is continuous.AimBetween 01/2020 and 02/2022, we studied SARS-CoV-2 variant epidemiology, evolution and association with COVID-19 severity.MethodsIn nasopharyngeal swabs of COVID-19 patients (n = 1,762) from France, Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands, SARS-CoV-2 was investigated by reverse transcription-quantitative PCR and whole-genome sequencing, and the virus variant/lineage (NextStrain/Pangolin) was determined. Patients' demographic and clinical details were recorded. Associations between mild/moderate or severe COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2 variants and patient characteristics were assessed by logistic regression. Rates and genomic locations of mutations, as well as quasi-species distribution (≥ 2 heterogeneous positions, ≥ 50× coverage) were estimated based on 1,332 high-quality sequences.ResultsOverall, 11 SARS-CoV-2 clades infected 1,762 study patients of median age 59 years (interquartile range (IQR): 45-73), with 52.5% (n = 925) being male. In total, 101 non-synonymous substitutions/insertions correlated with disease prognosis (severe, n = 27; mild-to-moderate, n = 74). Several hotspots (mutation rates ≥ 85%) occurred in Alpha, Delta, and Omicron variants of concern (VOCs) but none in pre-Alpha strains. Four hotspots were retained across all study variants, including spike:D614G. Average number of mutations per open-reading-frame (ORF) increased in the spike gene (average < 5 per genome in January 2020 to > 15 in 2022), but remained stable in ORF1ab, membrane, and nucleocapsid genes. Quasi-species were most prevalent in 20A/EU2 (48.9%), 20E/EU1 (48.6%), 20A (38.8%), and 21K/Omicron (36.1%) infections. Immunocompromised status and age (≥ 60 years), while associated with severe COVID-19 or death irrespective of variant (odds ratio (OR): 1.60-2.25; p ≤ 0.014), did not affect quasi-species' prevalence (p > 0.05).ConclusionSpecific mutations correlate with COVID-19 severity. Quasi-species potentially shaping VOCs' emergence are relevant to consider.

Indexed as

COVID-19SARS-CoV-2AdultAgedCohort StudiesEuropeFemaleGenome, ViralHumansMaleMiddle AgedMutationPhylogenyPrevalenceSeverity of Illness IndexWhole Genome SequencingcoronavirusdeletionsFranceGenome evolutioninsertionsItalymutation ratemutationsORCHESTRAquasi-speciesRNA secondary structureSNVSpainThe Netherlands

Identifiers

PMID40084424
PMCPMC11912139

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.