COVID-19 variants

Emergent SARS-CoV-2 Variants

Discrimination of Omicron from Delta and other variants

Surveillance Program

As the SARS-CoV-2 virus is continuously mutating and multiple SARS-CoV-2 variants are circulating globally, Siemens Healthineers wants to assure you that we have an active surveillance program in place. We continue to monitor the literature and the GISAID database to assess the potential of new variants to affect the performance of both the FTD™ SARS-CoV-2 Assay1 and FTD SARS-CoV-2/FluA/FluB/HRSV Assay2.

This latest update is based on previous in silico analysis of 11,428,775 complete sequences for the ORF1ab target and 11,418,035 complete sequences for the N gene target of SARS-CoV-2 from the GISAID database as of 17 July 2022 (www.gisaid.org). More recently, all available sequences for XBB.1.5, BF.7 and BQ.1 were downloaded from the GISAID database as of 16 January 2023. In this analysis, 76,634 sequences were analyzed for the ORF1ab target, and 76,557 sequences were analyzed for the N gene target.

The FTD SARS-CoV-2 Assay and FTD SARS-CoV-2/FluA/FluB/HRSV Assay have both been confirmed to detect the main variants and clades of SARS-CoV-2 that are currently circulating. Our recent in silico analysis showed that all the analyzed sequences were detected with a 100% detection rate by both N gene and ORF1ab assays with a maximum of three mismatches. Due to the dual target design, at least one assay can detect a sequence with no mismatch. Therefore, the subvariants detection by the FTD SARS-CoV-2 Assay and FTD SARS-CoV-2/FluA/FluB/HRSV Assay shall not be affected or result in performance issues3.

Circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants and clades* detected by the FTD SARS-CoV-2 Assay and FTD SARS-CoV-2/FluA/FluB/HRSV Assay

WHO name

PANGO Lineage

GISAID clade

Nextstrain clade

Relationship to circulating
VOC lineages

Date of designation 
or first documentation

Variants of Concern (VOCs)

Omicron

B.1.1.529**
GR/484A

21K, 21L, 
21M, 22A, 
22B, 22C, 
22D

N.A.

26 Nov 2021

Omicron subvariants under monitoring

/
BF.7

GRA

22B
BA.5 sublineage
24 Jan 2022

/

BQ.1

GRA

22E
BA.5 sublineage
07 Feb 2022

/

BA.2.75

GRA

22D
BA.2 sublineage
31 Dec 2021

/

XBB
/
22F

Recombinant of 
BA.2.10.1 and 
BA.2.75 sublineages

13 Aug 2022
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