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World J Virol. Mar 25, 2026; 15(1): 118988
Published online Mar 25, 2026. doi: 10.5501/wjv.v15.i1.118988
Published online Mar 25, 2026. doi: 10.5501/wjv.v15.i1.118988
Study on the correlation between molecular characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 and its epidemiology and clinical manifestations in Lu’an city
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
Revised: February 10, 2026
Accepted: March 9, 2026
Published online: March 25, 2026
Processing time: 53 Days and 22.6 Hours
Core Tip
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.