Skip to main content

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

Published: 09 February 2021


The figure shows the number of SARS-CoV-2 genomes, currently available in the GISAID database, for every 1000 reported cases of COVID-19 cased for the 20 Italian administrative regions. This is an important metric to measure our ability to rapidly identify new 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 6/01/2021 to 5/02/2021).
Viral genomes per Italian region
The number of genomes for 1000 COVID-19 cases is reported on the X-axis. Data are sorted in descending order, from the region with the highest number of genomes to the one with the lowest value. Regions are indicated on the Y-axis. The text in red shows the actual values represented in the graph. Panel A) reports the total number, while panel B) the number of genomes available last month (from 6/01/2021 to 5/02/2021).

This figure offers an overview of the number of SARS-CoV-2 genomes 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 to allow 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. This means it is impossible to obtain a complete and accurate overview of the viral lineages circulating in our country, especially for some particular regions.

Periodic comparisons of available data provide an overview of the completeness and accuracy of the current level of information we have access to, 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: https://www.gisaid.org/ (for genomic data)