SARS-CoV-2 mutation is minimized through a proofreading function encoded by NSP-14. Most estimates of the SARS-CoV-2 mutation rate are derived from population based sequence data. Our understanding of SARS-CoV-2 evolution might be enhanced through analysis of intra-host viral mutation rates in specific populations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Four severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants predominated in the United States since 2021. Understanding disease severity related to different SARS-CoV-2 variants remains limited.
Method: Viral genome analysis was performed on SARS-CoV-2 clinical isolates circulating March 2021 through March 2022 in Cleveland, Ohio.
Importance: Understanding of SARS-CoV-2 variants that alter disease outcomes are important for clinical risk stratification and may provide important clues to the complex virus-host relationship.
Objective: To examine the association of identified SARS-CoV-2 variants, virus clades, and clade groups with disease severity and patient outcomes.
Design, Setting, And Participants: In this cross-sectional study, viral genome analysis of clinical specimens obtained from patients at the Cleveland Clinic infected with SARS-CoV-2 during the initial wave of infection (March 11 to April 22, 2020) was performed.