National Center of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, Sofia, Bulgaria

Announcement of the spread of SARS-CoV-2 variants in the country, 25 January 2022

The National Center for Infectious and Parasitic Diseases (NCIPD) reports that 234 clinical samples with SARS-CoV-2 collected from 03-13 January 2022 were analyzed by next-generation whole-genome sequencing. The clinical samples were collected from 30 different medical centers, from 21 districts of the country.

129 (55.1%) of the samples were with Omicron (BA.1) and 105 (44.9%) were Delta (B.1.617.2) or Delta subvariants (AY.*). To define SARS-CoV-2 variants Nextclade v1.13.0 and Pangolin COVID-19 Lineage Assigner v3.1.17 programs were used. An epidemiological analysis is being carried out.

For information on the classification of SARS-CoV-2 variants and sub-variants, please visit: https://cov-lineages.org/index.html

For an up-to-date classification of the variants of concern (VOC), please visit:

https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/covid-19/variants-concern

https://www.who.int/en/activities/tracking-SARS-CoV-2-variants/

The NCIPD continues to monitor the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in the country, with a focus on VOC, altered virulence and immunogenicity that are of increased public health importance.