Retracted article
See the
retraction notice
doi: 10.1126/science.add8737.
Epub 2022 Dec 1.
RETRACTED: Gradual emergence followed by exponential spread of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant in Africa
Carlo Fischer #
1
, Tongai Gibson Maponga #
2
, Anges Yadouleton #
3
, Nuro Abílio
4
, Emmanuel Aboce
5
, Praise Adewumi
3
, Pedro Afonso
6
, Jewelna Akorli
7
, Soa Fy Andriamandimby
8
, Latifa Anga
9
, Yvonne Ashong
7
, Mohamed Amine Beloufa
10
, Aicha Bensalem
10
, Richard Birtles
11
12
, Anicet Luc Magloire Boumba
13
14
, Freddie Bwanga
5
15
, Mike Chaponda
16
, Paradzai Chibukira
17
, R Matthew Chico
18
, Justin Chileshe
16
, Gershom Chongwe
16
, Assana Cissé
19
, Umberto D'Alessandro
20
, Xavier Nicolas de Lamballerie
21
, Joana F M de Morais
6
, Fawzi Derrar
10
, Ndongo Dia
22
, Youssouf Diarra
23
, Lassina Doumbia
23
, Christian Drosten
1
24
, Philippe Dussart
8
, Richard Echodu
11
, Yannik Eggers
25
26
, Abdelmajid Eloualid
9
, Ousmane Faye
22
, Torsten Feldt
25
26
, Anna Frühauf
1
, Afiwa Halatoko
27
, Pauliana-Vanessa Ilouga
28
, Nalia Ismael
4
, Ronan Jambou
29
, Sheikh Jarju
20
, Antje Kamprad
1
, Ben Katowa
30
31
, John Kayiwa
32
, Leonard King'wara
33
, Ousmane Koita
23
, Vincent Lacoste
8
, Adamou Lagare
29
, Olfert Landt
34
, Sonia Etenna Lekana-Douki
35
, Jean-Bernard Lekana-Douki
35
, Etuhole Iipumbu
36
, Hugues Loemba
14
37
, Julius Lutwama
32
, Santou Mamadou
29
, Issaka Maman
27
, Brendon Manyisa
17
, Pedro A Martinez
6
, Japhet Matoba
30
31
, Lusia Mhuulu
36
, Andres Moreira-Soto
1
, Judy Mwangi
11
12
, Nadine N Dilimabaka
35
, Charity Angella Nassuna
32
, Mamadou Ousmane Ndiath
20
, Emmanuel Nepolo
36
, Richard Njouom
28
, Jalal Nourlil
9
, Steven Ger Nyanjom
38
, Eddy Okoth Odari
38
, Alfred Okeng
5
, Jean Bienvenue Ouoba
19
, Michael Owusu
39
, Irene Owusu Donkor
7
, Karabo Kristen Phadu
2
, Richard Odame Phillips
39
, Wolfgang Preiser
2
40
, Vurayai Ruhanya
17
, Fortune Salah
27
, Sourakatou Salifou
41
, Amadou Alpha Sall
22
, Augustina Angelina Sylverken
39
42
, Paul Alain Tagnouokam-Ngoupo
28
, Zekiba Tarnagda
19
, Francis Olivier Tchikaya
14
, Tafese Beyene Tufa
25
26
, Jan Felix Drexler
1
24
Affiliations
Affiliations
- 1 Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Institute of Virology, Berlin, Germany.
- 2 Division of Medical Virology, Stellenbosch University Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Cape Town, South Africa.
- 3 Laboratoire dés fievres hemorragiques virales de Cotonou, Akpakpa, Benin.
- 4 Instituto Nacional de Saúde, Maputo, Mozambique.
- 5 MBN Clinical Laboratories, Kampala, Uganda.
- 6 Instituto Nacional de Investigação em Saúde (INIS), Luanda, Angola.
- 7 Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana.
- 8 Institut Pasteur de Madagascar, Antananarivo, Madagascar.
- 9 Institut Pasteur du Maroc, Casablanca, Morocco.
- 10 Institut Pasteur of Algeria, National Influenza Centre, Sidi-Fredj, Algeria.
- 11 Gulu University Multifunctional Research Laboratories, Gulu, Uganda.
- 12 School of Science, Engineering and Environment, University of Salford, Salford, UK.
- 13 Faculty of Health Sciences, Marien Ngouabi University, Pointe-Noire, Congo.
- 14 Molecular Diagnostic Laboratory HDL, Pointe-Noire, Congo.
- 15 Makerere University College of Health Sciences, Kampala, Uganda.
- 16 Tropical Diseases Research Centre, Ndola Teaching Hospital, Ndola, Zambia.
- 17 National Virology Laboratory, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Zimbabwe, Avondale, Zimbabwe.
- 18 London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
- 19 Laboratoire National de Référence-Grippes, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
- 20 Medical Research Council Unit at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Banjul, Gambia.
- 21 Unité des Virus Émergents, Aix Marseille Université, Marseille, France.
- 22 Institut Pasteur de Dakar (IPD), Dakar, Senegal.
- 23 Université des Sciences, des Techniques et des Technologies de Bamako (USTTB), Bamako, Mali.
- 24 German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF), associated Partner Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
- 25 Hirsch Institute of Tropical Medicine, Asella, Ethiopia.
- 26 Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Infectious Diseases, University Hospital Düsseldorf, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany.
- 27 Institut National d'Hygiène, Lomé, Togo.
- 28 Centre Pasteur du Cameroun, Yaounde, Cameroon.
- 29 Centre de Recherche Médicale et Sanitaire (CERMES), Niamey, Niger.
- 30 Macha Research Trust, Choma, Zambia.
- 31 School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia.
- 32 Uganda Virus Research Institute, Entebbe, Uganda.
- 33 National Public Health Reference Laboratory, Ministry of Health, Nairobi, Kenya.
- 34 TiB-Molbiol GmbH, Berlin, Germany.
- 35 Centre Interdisciplinaire de Recherches Médicales de Franceville (CIRMF), Franceville, Gabon.
- 36 School of Medicine, University of Namibia, Windhoek, Namibia.
- 37 Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
- 38 School of Biomedical Sciences, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Nairobi, Kenya.
- 39 Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research in Tropical Medicine (KCCR), Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, Ghana.
- 40 National Health Laboratory Service Tygerberg Business Unit, Cape Town, South Africa.
- 41 Ministère de la Santé, Akpakpa, Benin.
- 42 Department of Theoretical and Applied Biology, KNUST, Kumasi, Ghana.
# Contributed equally.
- PMID: 36454863
- DOI: 10.1126/science.add8737
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RETRACTED: Gradual emergence followed by exponential spread of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant in Africa
Carlo Fischer et al.
Science.
.
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doi: 10.1126/science.add8737.
Epub 2022 Dec 1.
Authors
Carlo Fischer #
1
, Tongai Gibson Maponga #
2
, Anges Yadouleton #
3
, Nuro Abílio
4
, Emmanuel Aboce
5
, Praise Adewumi
3
, Pedro Afonso
6
, Jewelna Akorli
7
, Soa Fy Andriamandimby
8
, Latifa Anga
9
, Yvonne Ashong
7
, Mohamed Amine Beloufa
10
, Aicha Bensalem
10
, Richard Birtles
11
12
, Anicet Luc Magloire Boumba
13
14
, Freddie Bwanga
5
15
, Mike Chaponda
16
, Paradzai Chibukira
17
, R Matthew Chico
18
, Justin Chileshe
16
, Gershom Chongwe
16
, Assana Cissé
19
, Umberto D'Alessandro
20
, Xavier Nicolas de Lamballerie
21
, Joana F M de Morais
6
, Fawzi Derrar
10
, Ndongo Dia
22
, Youssouf Diarra
23
, Lassina Doumbia
23
, Christian Drosten
1
24
, Philippe Dussart
8
, Richard Echodu
11
, Yannik Eggers
25
26
, Abdelmajid Eloualid
9
, Ousmane Faye
22
, Torsten Feldt
25
26
, Anna Frühauf
1
, Afiwa Halatoko
27
, Pauliana-Vanessa Ilouga
28
, Nalia Ismael
4
, Ronan Jambou
29
, Sheikh Jarju
20
, Antje Kamprad
1
, Ben Katowa
30
31
, John Kayiwa
32
, Leonard King'wara
33
, Ousmane Koita
23
, Vincent Lacoste
8
, Adamou Lagare
29
, Olfert Landt
34
, Sonia Etenna Lekana-Douki
35
, Jean-Bernard Lekana-Douki
35
, Etuhole Iipumbu
36
, Hugues Loemba
14
37
, Julius Lutwama
32
, Santou Mamadou
29
, Issaka Maman
27
, Brendon Manyisa
17
, Pedro A Martinez
6
, Japhet Matoba
30
31
, Lusia Mhuulu
36
, Andres Moreira-Soto
1
, Judy Mwangi
11
12
, Nadine N Dilimabaka
35
, Charity Angella Nassuna
32
, Mamadou Ousmane Ndiath
20
, Emmanuel Nepolo
36
, Richard Njouom
28
, Jalal Nourlil
9
, Steven Ger Nyanjom
38
, Eddy Okoth Odari
38
, Alfred Okeng
5
, Jean Bienvenue Ouoba
19
, Michael Owusu
39
, Irene Owusu Donkor
7
, Karabo Kristen Phadu
2
, Richard Odame Phillips
39
, Wolfgang Preiser
2
40
, Vurayai Ruhanya
17
, Fortune Salah
27
, Sourakatou Salifou
41
, Amadou Alpha Sall
22
, Augustina Angelina Sylverken
39
42
, Paul Alain Tagnouokam-Ngoupo
28
, Zekiba Tarnagda
19
, Francis Olivier Tchikaya
14
, Tafese Beyene Tufa
25
26
, Jan Felix Drexler
1
24
Affiliations
- 1 Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Institute of Virology, Berlin, Germany.
- 2 Division of Medical Virology, Stellenbosch University Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Cape Town, South Africa.
- 3 Laboratoire dés fievres hemorragiques virales de Cotonou, Akpakpa, Benin.
- 4 Instituto Nacional de Saúde, Maputo, Mozambique.
- 5 MBN Clinical Laboratories, Kampala, Uganda.
- 6 Instituto Nacional de Investigação em Saúde (INIS), Luanda, Angola.
- 7 Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana.
- 8 Institut Pasteur de Madagascar, Antananarivo, Madagascar.
- 9 Institut Pasteur du Maroc, Casablanca, Morocco.
- 10 Institut Pasteur of Algeria, National Influenza Centre, Sidi-Fredj, Algeria.
- 11 Gulu University Multifunctional Research Laboratories, Gulu, Uganda.
- 12 School of Science, Engineering and Environment, University of Salford, Salford, UK.
- 13 Faculty of Health Sciences, Marien Ngouabi University, Pointe-Noire, Congo.
- 14 Molecular Diagnostic Laboratory HDL, Pointe-Noire, Congo.
- 15 Makerere University College of Health Sciences, Kampala, Uganda.
- 16 Tropical Diseases Research Centre, Ndola Teaching Hospital, Ndola, Zambia.
- 17 National Virology Laboratory, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Zimbabwe, Avondale, Zimbabwe.
- 18 London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
- 19 Laboratoire National de Référence-Grippes, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
- 20 Medical Research Council Unit at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Banjul, Gambia.
- 21 Unité des Virus Émergents, Aix Marseille Université, Marseille, France.
- 22 Institut Pasteur de Dakar (IPD), Dakar, Senegal.
- 23 Université des Sciences, des Techniques et des Technologies de Bamako (USTTB), Bamako, Mali.
- 24 German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF), associated Partner Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
- 25 Hirsch Institute of Tropical Medicine, Asella, Ethiopia.
- 26 Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Infectious Diseases, University Hospital Düsseldorf, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany.
- 27 Institut National d'Hygiène, Lomé, Togo.
- 28 Centre Pasteur du Cameroun, Yaounde, Cameroon.
- 29 Centre de Recherche Médicale et Sanitaire (CERMES), Niamey, Niger.
- 30 Macha Research Trust, Choma, Zambia.
- 31 School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia.
- 32 Uganda Virus Research Institute, Entebbe, Uganda.
- 33 National Public Health Reference Laboratory, Ministry of Health, Nairobi, Kenya.
- 34 TiB-Molbiol GmbH, Berlin, Germany.
- 35 Centre Interdisciplinaire de Recherches Médicales de Franceville (CIRMF), Franceville, Gabon.
- 36 School of Medicine, University of Namibia, Windhoek, Namibia.
- 37 Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
- 38 School of Biomedical Sciences, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Nairobi, Kenya.
- 39 Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research in Tropical Medicine (KCCR), Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, Ghana.
- 40 National Health Laboratory Service Tygerberg Business Unit, Cape Town, South Africa.
- 41 Ministère de la Santé, Akpakpa, Benin.
- 42 Department of Theoretical and Applied Biology, KNUST, Kumasi, Ghana.
# Contributed equally.
- PMID: 36454863
- DOI: 10.1126/science.add8737
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Retraction in
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Retraction.Fischer C, Maponga TG, Yadouleton A, Abílio N, Aboce E, Adewumi P, Afonso P, Akorli J, Andriamandimby SF, Anga L, Ashong Y, Beloufa MA, Bensalem A, Birtles R, Boumba ALM, Bwanga F, Chaponda M, Chibukira P, Chico RM, Chileshe J, Chongwe G, Cissé A, D'Alessandro U, de Lamballerie XN, de Morais JFM, Derrar F, Dia N, Diarra Y, Doumbia L, Drosten C, Dussart P, Echodu R, Eggers Y, Eloualid A, Faye O, Feldt T, Frühauf A, Halatoko A, Ilouga PV, Ismael N, Jambou R, Jarju S, Kamprad A, Katowa B, Kayiwa J, King'wara L, Koita O, Lacoste V, Lagare A, Landt O, Lekana-Douki SE, Lekana-Douki JB, Iipumbu E, Loemba H, Lutwama J, Mamadou S, Maman I, Manyisa B, Martinez PA, Matoba J, Mhuulu L, Moreira-Soto A, Mwangi J, N'dilimabaka N, Nassuna CA, Ndiath MO, Nepolo E, Njouom R, Nourlil J, Nyanjom SG, Odari EO, Okeng A, Ouoba JB, Owusu M, Donkor IO, Phadu KK, Phillips RO, Preiser W, Ruhanya V, Salah F, Salifou S, Sall AA, Sylverken AA, Tagnouokam-Ngoupo PA, Tarnagda Z, Tchikaya FO, Tufa TB, Drexler JF. Fischer C, et al. Science. 2022 Dec 23;378(6626):1284-1285. doi: 10.1126/science.adg2821. Epub 2022 Dec 20. Science. 2022. PMID: 36537892 No abstract available.
Abstract
The geographic and evolutionary origins of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant (BA.1), which was first detected mid-November 2021 in Southern Africa, remain unknown. We tested 13,097 COVID-19 patients sampled between mid-2021 to early 2022 from 22 African countries for BA.1 by real-time RT-PCR. By November-December 2021, BA.1 had replaced the Delta variant in all African sub-regions following a South-North gradient, with a peak Rt of 4.1. Polymerase chain reaction and near-full genome sequencing data revealed genetically diverse Omicron ancestors already existed across Africa by August 2021. Mutations, altering viral tropism, replication and immune escape, gradually accumulated in the spike gene. Omicron ancestors were therefore present in several African countries months before Omicron dominated transmission. These data also indicate that travel bans are ineffective in the face of undetected and widespread infection.
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