Background The United Kingdom reported the emergence of a new and highly transmissible SARS-CoV-2 variant (B.1.1.7) that rapidly spread to other countries. The impact of this new mutation—which occurs in the S protein—on infectivity, virulence, and current vaccine effectiveness is still under evaluation. Objective The aim of this study is to sequence SARS-CoV-2 samples of cases in Romania to detect the B.1.1.7 variant and compare these samples with sequences submitted to GISAID. Methods SARS-CoV-2 samples were sequenced and amino acid substitution analysis was performed using the CoV-GLUE platform. Results We have identified the first cases of the B.1.1.7 variant in samples collected from Romanian patients, of which one was traced to the region of the United Kingdom where the new variant was originally sequenced. Mutations in nonstructural protein 3 (Nsp3; N844S and D455N) and ORF3a (L15F) were also detected, indicating common ancestry with UK strains as well as remote connections with strains from Nagasaki, Japan. Conclusions These results indicate, for the first time, the presence and characteristics of the new variant B.1.1.7 in Romania and underscore the need for increased genomic sequencing in patients with confirmed COVID-19.
