Skip to main content

Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 variants in Italy (January 3rd 2022 ISS Flash Survey)

Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern in Italy (adapted from the ISS Flash Survey of January 3rd 2022)

Published: 04 February 2022

The I-Co-Gen platform developed by the Italian National Institute of Health (ISS), and released in April 2021, is currently the most up to date and reliable system for the collection and analysis of SARS-CoV-2 genome sequencing data in Italy. Based on the data processed through I-Co-Gen, the Italian National Institute of Health (ISS), supported by the Bruno Kessler Foundation and in collaboration with the Italian Ministry of Health, the Regional administrations and the Autonomous Provinces (PPAA), have launched an ongoing and coordinated effort to monitor the spread of SARS-CoV-2 variants in Italy. Results are released periodically in the form of brief reports (further details here, Italian only).
This highlight provides a brief overview of the main results presented in the most recent report (data from January 3rd 2022). Data from the previous reports (data from December 6th and December 20th 2021) are also included to facilitate the comparison.
Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 variants in Italy (January 3rd 2022 ISS Flash Survey)
The table reports the prevalence of the Delta (B.1.617.2) and Omicron (B.1.1.529) Variants of Concern (VOC) of SARS-CoV-2 in Italy. Additional information concerning the nomenclature and features of these variants can be found here, in a paper by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Prevalence data are stratified by Region/Autonomous Province, the total number of genomic sequences included in the analysis is reported as well. Aggregated data are also reported to present an overview of the current situation in Italy.
Matched data from the previous reports are included for the sake of comparison (genomic data of December 6th and December 20th 2021).

According to the most recent ISS Report (genomic data from January 3rd 2022) the Omicron variant (lineage B.1.1.529 and derivative lineages BA.n) is the most prevalent variant in Italy. The prevalence of the Omicron variant, in fact, rapidly increased from 21,0% (Flash Survey from December 20th 2021) to 80,75% (with regional range varying from 33,3% to 100,0%) at National level. These data are in line with the hypothesis formulated in the previous update which can be found on the COVID-19 Data Portal Italy at the following link.
At the same time the Delta variant (lineage B.1.617.2 and derivative lineages AY.n) was detected in almost all Regions/PPAA, however the prevalence of this variant in Italy dropped dramatically going from 79,0% (Flash Survey from December 20th 2021) to 19,22% (with regional range varying from 0,0% to 66,7%).
Finally, neither the Beta variant (B.1.351) nor the Gamma variant (P.1) were detected in Italy during the last Flash Survey, and hence these VOCs are not included in the table included in this update.

To obtain detailed information concerning the data included in the report, the methods applied and the technical limitations of the survey, please refer to the complete report as available on the ISS website at the following links (italian only):

The previous report is available at the following links (italian only):

Source: ISS (prevalence data)