Real-time to Real-life: Phylogenetics & SARS-CoV-2 Variant Tracking
Abstract: Since the UK government announced a more transmissible variant of SARS-CoV-2 in December 2020, countries around the world have quickly committed resources to tracking the main variants of concern (VoC). But even variants without obvious changes in viral traits can give insight into how SARS-CoV-2 spreads, help track specific epidemics, and give clues about arising mutations.
However, tracking variants can be challenging for scientists unfamiliar with huge numbers of sequences and complex phylogenetic trees – with over 2.5 million publicly available sequences, it is no small task to track and monitor emerging and existing variants.
This talk will discuss significant variants and what we have observed about them, how we detect variants of concern and interest, and how both our methods and what we classify as “variants worth watching” may change in the future.
Emma Hodcroft
ISPM
However, tracking variants can be challenging for scientists unfamiliar with huge numbers of sequences and complex phylogenetic trees – with over 2.5 million publicly available sequences, it is no small task to track and monitor emerging and existing variants.
This talk will discuss significant variants and what we have observed about them, how we detect variants of concern and interest, and how both our methods and what we classify as “variants worth watching” may change in the future.
Emma Hodcroft
ISPM
Practical information
- Informed public
- Free
Organizer
- Bruno Lemaitre