SARS-CoV-2 Variant Surveillance in Lusaka and Ndola, Zambia. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2

The core objective is to address gaps in global surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 variants and seasonal influenza viruses in Africa. Efforts will be focused on enrollment of individuals who contract infection in the community within Lusaka and Ndola, Zambia and collection of viral sequence data and matched serum samples from these individuals. Identification of SARS-CoV-2 variants of interest (VOI) or variants of concern (VOC) based on sequence data will be followed up with virus isolation. Importantly, phylogeographic analysis of sequence data will indicate where variants circulating in Zambia came from or whether they originated locally.