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Viral genomes per Italian region.

SARS-CoV-2 genomes in the GISAID database by 1000 cases of COVID-19, for the 20 Italian Administrative Regions as of March 29th 2021.

Published: 16 April 2021

The figure displays the number of SARS-CoV-2 genomes, for every 1000 reported cases of COVID-19, currently available in the GISAID database for the 20 Italian administrative regions. This measure provides an indication of our ability to rapidly identify novel mutations or lineages of the virus and monitor its circulation on a geographical and temporal basis. Panel A) shows the global situation. Panel B) shows the situation of the last month (from 1/03/2021 to 29/03/2021).
Viral genomes per Italian region.
The number of genomes for 1000 COVID-19 cases is reported on the X-axis. Regions are indicated on the Y-axis. The text in red indicates the values represented in the graph. Panel A) reports the total number, while panel B) the number of genomes available last month (from 1/03/2021 to 29/03/2021).

This figure offers an overview of the number of SARS-CoV-2 genomic sequences, currently available in the GISAID database for different regions of our country. Sequencing an adequate proportion (compared to the number of COVID-19 cases) of viral genomes, and making the data rapidly available are key requirements for the identification of novel viral lineages or mutations of potential concern.

It is important to underline that, at present, the data provided by different regions of our country are heterogeneous, and are not always up to date. For this reason it is very hard to obtain a complete and accurate overview of the viral lineages circulating in our country, especially for some specific regions.

Periodic comparisons of available data provide an overview of the completeness and accuracy of the currently accessible information, but also of possible issues. In addition to offering a snapshot of the number of SARS-CoV-2 genomes that are currently available, this monthly report aims to monitor the effectiveness of the actions undertaken by the Italian COVID-19 Data Portal to make available data more homogeneous and complete, and therefore more useful.

Source: GISAID (for genomic data)