Chang HW, Yang W, Yu L, Gao DW, Zhang F, Chen ZC, Chen BL, Zhang LM, Zhu R, Zhang Q, Li ZY, Rao JG. Study on the correlation between molecular characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 and its epidemiology and clinical manifestations in Lu’an city. World J Virol 2026; 15(1): 118988 [DOI: 10.5501/wjv.v15.i1.118988]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Jian-Guo Rao, Adjunct Professor, Chief Physician, Department of Infectious Diseases, Lu’an Hospital of Anhui Medical University, No. 21 Wanxi West Road, Lu’an 237000, Anhui Province, China. 23687629@qq.com
Research Domain of This Article
Virology
Article-Type of This Article
Retrospective Study
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Mar 25, 2026 (publication date) through Mar 13, 2026
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Journal Information of This Article
Publication Name
World Journal of Virology
ISSN
2220-3249
Publisher of This Article
Baishideng Publishing Group Inc, 7041 Koll Center Parkway, Suite 160, Pleasanton, CA 94566, USA
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Chang HW, Yang W, Yu L, Gao DW, Zhang F, Chen ZC, Chen BL, Zhang LM, Zhu R, Zhang Q, Li ZY, Rao JG. Study on the correlation between molecular characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 and its epidemiology and clinical manifestations in Lu’an city. World J Virol 2026; 15(1): 118988 [DOI: 10.5501/wjv.v15.i1.118988]
Hong-Wei Chang, Wei Yang, Da-Wei Gao, Feng Zhang, Zhi-Chao Chen, Bei-Lei Chen, Li-Mei Zhang, Rui Zhu, Qin Zhang, Zhao-Yang Li, Department of Microbiology Laboratory, Lu’an Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Lu’an 237000, Anhui Province, China
Long Yu, Jian-Guo Rao, Department of Infectious Diseases, Lu’an Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Lu’an 237000, Anhui Province, China
Author contributions: Chang HW conducted the statistical analysis and data management, constructing phylogenetic trees; Chang HW and Rao JG conceived and designed the study; Yu L and Rao JG were responsible for clinical diagnosis, treatment, and the collection of clinical medical records; Chang HW, Yang W, Gao DW, Zhang F, Chen ZC, Chen BL, Zhang LM, Zhu R, Zhang Q, and Li ZY performed the nucleic acid testing; Yang W, Gao DW, and Chen ZC determined the complete genome sequences; and all authors thoroughly reviewed and endorsed the final manuscript.
Supported by the Science and Technology Research Key Project of Anhui Provincial Health Commission, No. AHWJ2021a028.
Institutional review board statement: This study was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of Lu’an Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention, approval No. 2026-2602.
Informed consent statement: Written informed consent was obtained from all patients (or their legal guardians) prior to sample collection and data acquisition.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Data sharing statement: The original data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to privacy and ethical restrictions (containing potentially identifiable patient information). The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 sequences have been submitted to the National Center for Biotechnology Information GenBank (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) database under accession numbers (OM065338-OM065389, OM098414-OM098426, OQ586439-OQ586441, OQ586645-OQ586667).
Corresponding author: Jian-Guo Rao, Adjunct Professor, Chief Physician, Department of Infectious Diseases, Lu’an Hospital of Anhui Medical University, No. 21 Wanxi West Road, Lu’an 237000, Anhui Province, China. 23687629@qq.com
Received: January 21, 2026 Revised: February 10, 2026 Accepted: March 9, 2026 Published online: March 25, 2026 Processing time: 53 Days and 22.6 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic remains a major global public health threat, and ongoing viral mutations continue to complicate control efforts. To inform local prevention strategies, this study investigated the epidemiological and molecular characteristics of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in Lu’an city from 2020 to 2022, and analyzed their association with clinical outcomes.
AIM
To analyze the molecular epidemiology and risk factors for severe COVID-19, and provide a scientific basis for guiding local epidemic prevention and control strategies.
METHODS
Biological samples were collected from confirmed COVID-19 patients in Lu’an city between 2020 and 2022. Complete SARS-CoV-2 genomic sequences were obtained through sequencing. Epidemiological and clinical data were collected concurrently for each patient. Statistical analyses were conducted using IBM SPSS 29.0 software to assess risk factors associated with severe COVID-19. Viral genomic sequences were analyzed using MEGA software to characterize the molecular features of circulating SARS-CoV-2 strains.
RESULTS
Sequencing identified the original SARS-CoV-2 strain in samples from 2020-2021, while the Omicron variant was detected in samples from 2022. The predominant clinical manifestations among patients were cough (67.03%) and fever (65.56%). Laboratory and imaging examinations revealed that 78.85% of infected patients exhibited abnormalities on chest computed tomography scans. Comprehensive analyses demonstrated that the temporal and spatial distribution of prevalent SARS-CoV-2 strains in Lu’an city was consistent with national trends in China. The presence of underlying comorbidities, including hypertension, diabetes, and liver injury, was significantly associated with progression to severe COVID-19. This risk showed little correlation with the specific SARS-CoV-2 variant type.
CONCLUSION
The development of severe COVID-19 was predominantly associated with pre-existing comorbidities rather than with SARS-CoV-2 variant type. These findings provide evidence to inform targeted clinical management and public health planning for vulnerable populations.
Core Tip: To conduct whole-genome sequencing of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 strains circulating in Lu’an city, analyze the association between different genotypes and major clinical symptoms, and investigate the relationship between severe coronavirus disease 2019 and both viral genotypes and patients’ underlying diseases.
