Press Release N° 24/2021 COVID-19: in Italy 91.6% of patients affected by the 'English variant', 4.5% by the 'Brazilian' variant

ISS, 30 april 2021 - In Italy as at last April 15, the prevalence of the so-called 'English variant' (B.1.1.7) of the Sars-CoV-2 virus was 91.6%, (up from 86.7% on 18 March), with values fluctuating for the individual regions between 77.8% and 100%. For the 'Brazilian' variant (P.1) the prevalence was 4.5% (0% -18.3%, while it was 4.0% in the previous survey), while the other monitored variants were less than 0.5% , with a single case of the so-called 'Indian variant' (B.1.617.2) and 11 of the 'Nigerian' one (B.1.525). The estimate comes from the new rapid survey carried out by the ISS and the Ministry of Health together with the regional laboratories and the Bruno Kessler Foundation. The survey integrates routine monitoring activities, and therefore does not contain all the cases of the variants detected but only those relating to the day taken into consideration.
For the investigation, the laboratories of the Regions and Autonomous Provinces were asked to select subsamples of positive cases and to sequence the genome of the virus, according to the methods described in the circular of the Ministry of Health of 17 March last. The sample requested was chosen by the Regions / Autonomous Provinces at random from among the positive samples, ensuring geographical representativeness and, if possible, representation of the different age groups. In total, 21 Regions / Autonomous Provinces and a total of 126 laboratories participated in the survey.
These are the main observations that emerged from the survey
● in the Italian context, in which vaccination is in progress but has not yet reached sufficient coverage, the spread of variants with greater transmissibility may have a significant impact if adequate mitigation measures are not adopted. While lineage B.1.1.7 is now largely predominant, particular attention should be paid to the P.1 variant, whose prevalence has remained almost unchanged from previous surveys;
● in the current European and national scenario, characterized by the emergence of several variants, the circulation of the variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus needs to be monitored constantly and carefully, and compliance with national and international recommendations and with ministerial indications needs to be ensured.
● in order to contain and mitigate the impact of the virus, it is important to keep the incidence at values that allow the systematic tracking of most cases.​​​​​​​