Two Years of Genomic Surveillance in Belgium during the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic to Attain Country-Wide Coverage and Monitor the Introduction and Spread of Emerging Variants.
Cuypers, Lize; Dellicour, Simon; Hong, Samuel Let al.
Two years of genomic surveillance in Belgium during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic to attain country-wide coverage and monitor the introduction and spread of emerging variants.pdf
[en] An adequate SARS-CoV-2 genomic surveillance strategy has proven to be essential for countries to obtain a thorough understanding of the variants and lineages being imported and successfully established within their borders. During 2020, genomic surveillance in Belgium was not structurally implemented but performed by individual research laboratories that had to acquire the necessary funds themselves to perform this important task. At the start of 2021, a nationwide genomic surveillance consortium was established in Belgium to markedly increase the country's genomic sequencing efforts (both in terms of intensity and representativeness), to perform quality control among participating laboratories, and to enable coordination and collaboration of research projects and publications. We here discuss the genomic surveillance efforts in Belgium before and after the establishment of its genomic sequencing consortium, provide an overview of the specifics of the consortium, and explore more details regarding the scientific studies that have been published as a result of the increased number of Belgian SARS-CoV-2 genomes that have become available.
Disciplines :
Genetics & genetic processes
Author, co-author :
Cuypers, Lize ; National Reference Centre for Respiratory Pathogens, Department of Laboratory Medicine, University Hospitals Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
Dellicour, Simon ; Spatial Epidemiology Lab (SpELL), Université Libre de Bruxelles, 1000 Brussels, Belgium ; Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, Rega Institute, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
Hong, Samuel L ; Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, Rega Institute, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
Potter, Barney I; Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, Rega Institute, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
Verhasselt, Bruno; Department of Diagnostic Sciences, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
Vereecke, Nick ; PathoSense BV, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, 9820 Merelbeke, Belgium
Lambrechts, Laurens ; HIV Cure Research Center, Department of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium ; BioBix, Department of Data Analysis and Mathematical Modelling, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
Durkin, Keith ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des sciences biomédicales et précliniques ; Laboratory of Human Genetics, GIGA Research Institute, 4000 Liège, Belgium
Bours, Vincent ; Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Liège - CHU > > Service de génétique ; Laboratory of Human Genetics, GIGA Research Institute, 4000 Liège, Belgium
Klamer, Sofieke; Scientific Directorate of Epidemiology and Public Health, Sciensano, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
Bayon-Vicente, Guillaume; Department of Proteomic and Microbiology, Research Institute for Biosciences, University of Mons, 7000 Mons, Belgium
Vael, Carl; Clinical Laboratory, AZ Klina, 2930 Brasschaat, Belgium
Ariën, Kevin K ; Virology Unit, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium ; Faculty of Pharmaceutical, Biomedical and Veterinary Sciences, Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Antwerp, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium
De Mendonca, Ricardo; Department of Microbiology, CUB-Hôpital Erasme, Université Libre de Bruxelles, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
Soetens, Oriane ; Department of Microbiology and Infection Control, Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 1090 Brussels, Belgium
Michel, Charlotte; Department of Microbiology, Laboratoire Hospitalier Universitaire de Bruxelles (LHUB-ULB), 1000 Brussels, Belgium
Bearzatto, Bertrand ; Center for Applied Molecular Technologies (CTMA), Institut de Recherche Expérimentale et Clinique (IREC), Université Catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain), 1000 Brussels, Belgium
Naesens, Reinout ; Department of Medical Microbiology, Ziekenhuis Netwerk Antwerpen, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium
Gras, Jeremie; Institute of Pathology and Genetics (IPG), 6041 Gosselies, Belgium
Matheeussen, Veerle ; Laboratory of Medical Microbiology, Department of Microbiology, Vaccine & Infectious Disease Institute (VAXINFECTIO), University of Antwerp, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium
Martens, Geert; Department of Laboratory Medicine, AZ Delta General Hospital, 8800 Roeselare, Belgium
Reynders, Marijke ; Department of Laboratory Medicine, Medical Microbiology, AZ Sint-Jan Bruges-Ostend AV, 8000 Bruges, Belgium
Degosserie, Jonathan ; Federal Testing Platform COVID-19, Department of Laboratory Medicine, CHU UCL Namur, 5530 Yvoir, Belgium ; Next Generation Sequencing Platform, Molecular Diagnostic Center, CHU UCL Namur, 5530 Yvoir, Belgium
COVID-19 Genomics Belgium Consortium
Maes, Piet; Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, Rega Institute, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
André, Emmanuel ; National Reference Centre for Respiratory Pathogens, Department of Laboratory Medicine, University Hospitals Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium ; Federal Testing Platform COVID-19, Department of Laboratory Medicine, University Hospitals Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium ; Laboratory of Clinical Microbiology, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
Baele, Guy ; Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, Rega Institute, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
Two Years of Genomic Surveillance in Belgium during the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic to Attain Country-Wide Coverage and Monitor the Introduction and Spread of Emerging Variants.
