{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,15]],"date-time":"2026-07-15T03:04:15Z","timestamp":1784084655342,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":17,"publisher":"Springer Science and Business Media LLC","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,20]],"date-time":"2026-05-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1779235200000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,15]],"date-time":"2026-07-15T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1784073600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":56,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["link.springer.com"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["BMC Infect Dis"],"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>COVID-19 is primarily considered a viral respiratory and vascular illness as its causative agent, SARS-CoV-2, predominantly targets the respiratory and vascular systems. Since being declared a global pandemic by the WHO in 2020, SARS-CoV-2 has spread to 223 countries with more than 281\u00a0million cases, and an estimated 5.4\u00a0million deaths reported globally. The cardinal aim of this study was to assess the genetic diversity of the circulating SARS-CoV-2 in Ebonyi State, Southeastern Nigeria.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Over a span of 24 calendar months (April, 2020 to March, 2022), a total of 20 clinical samples (nasopharyngeal, nasal, and oropharyngeal swabs) from individuals who were previously confirmed to be positive for the SAR-COV-2 virus by real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) were randomly selected and submitted for whole genome sequencing using illumina MiSeq sequencer.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Results indicated a very high predominance of SARS-CoV-2 clade 21D (Eta) and pangolin lineage B.1.525, as 19 out of the 20 sequenced strains belonged to this group, while only one belonged to clade 21B and pangolin lineage B.1.1.318.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This study highlighted the dynamics of the circulating SARS-CoV-2 strains in Nigeria. Information from this study will be very crucial in developing and structuring interventions, adaptation of response strategies, and improved preparedness for potential future public health challenges posed by SARS-CoV-2 strains, with a resultant impact of contributing to the broader global effort in combating the pandemic.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1186\/s12879-026-13641-8","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,20]],"date-time":"2026-05-20T16:13:28Z","timestamp":1779293608000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Whole genome sequencing of SARS-CoV-2: evaluating the genetic diversity of variants circulating in Ebonyi State, Southeastern Nigeria"],"prefix":"10.1186","volume":"26","author":[{"given":"Elizabeth Chibuzo","family":"Odeh","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Chidinma Stacy","family":"Iroha","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ejiro","family":"Dowe","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ikechukwu Benjamin","family":"Moses","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Muhammad Iluoreh","family":"Ahmed","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Philomena","family":"Eromon","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Eric Chinonso","family":"Nwojiji","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Chiedozie Kingsley","family":"Ojide","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ezeora Christian","family":"Achi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ifeanyichukwu Romanus","family":"Iroha","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"13641_CR1","unstructured":"World Health Organization. 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Note of Clarification on para- graph 30 added by the WMA General Assembly, Tokyo. 2004."}],"container-title":["BMC Infectious Diseases"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/article\/10.1186\/s12879-026-13641-8","content-type":"text\/html","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/content\/pdf\/10.1186\/s12879-026-13641-8.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/content\/pdf\/10.1186\/s12879-026-13641-8.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,15]],"date-time":"2026-07-15T02:25:18Z","timestamp":1784082318000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/10.1186\/s12879-026-13641-8"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,20]]},"references-count":17,"journal-issue":{"issue":"1","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,12]]}},"alternative-id":["13641"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1186\/s12879-026-13641-8","relation":{},"ISSN":["1471-2334"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1471-2334","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,20]]},"assertion":[{"value":"6 February 2026","order":1,"name":"received","label":"Received","group":{"name":"ArticleHistory","label":"Article History"}},{"value":"15 May 2026","order":2,"name":"accepted","label":"Accepted","group":{"name":"ArticleHistory","label":"Article History"}},{"value":"20 May 2026","order":3,"name":"first_online","label":"First Online","group":{"name":"ArticleHistory","label":"Article History"}},{"value":"The study was approved by the Ethics committee of the Ebonyi State Ministry of Health, Abakaliki, Nigeria with reference number: EBSHREC\/02\/09\/2021\/24. Informed consent was also obtained from all participants prior to their enrolment in the study. Every fundamental study was done in line with the World Medical Association (WMA) declaration of Helsinki on the principles for medical research involving human and animal subjects, and identifiable human and animal material or data [\n                      \n                      ].","order":1,"name":"Ethics","label":"Ethics approval and consent to participate","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Declarations"}},{"value":"Not applicable.","order":2,"name":"Ethics","label":"Consent for publication","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Declarations"}},{"value":"The authors declare no competing interests.","order":3,"name":"Ethics","label":"Competing interests","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Declarations"}}],"article-number":"1344"}}