Identification of human genetic variants modulating the course of COVID-19 infection with importance in other viral infections.

COVID-19 has been a major focus of scientific research since early 2020. Due to its societal, economic, and clinical impact worldwide, research efforts aimed, among other questions, to address the effect of host genetics in susceptibility and severity of COVID-19. We, therefore, performed next-generation sequencing of coding and regulatory regions of 16 human genes, involved in maintenance of the immune system or encoding receptors for viral entry into the host cells, in a subset of 60 COVID-19 patients from the General Hospital Tešanj, Bosnia and Herzegovina, classified into three groups of clinical conditions of different severity ("mild," "moderate," and "severe").

Detection of 13 Hypervariable Region 1 (Hv1) SNPs using single-base extension (Sbe) primers in parallel with Sanger sequencing.

The aim of this study was to determine whether single-base extension (SBE) chemistry can be applied to forensic practice of testing the target single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) Hypervariable Region 1 (HV1). Despite itsweak discrimination power, high copy number of mtDNA per cell and its stability against degradation guarantee mtDNA testing a place in modern forensic genetics. In this research, buccal swab samples were obtained from 294 individuals from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Phylogenetic Changes in SARS-CoV-2 Virus in Bosnian-Herzegovinian Population Over the Period of Two Years.

Background: All viral genomes, including the SARS-CoV-2 virus, mutate over time, and some of these mutations can affect the characteristics of the virus, such as the ease of spread, the severity of the patient's clinical picture, or the effect of vaccines, therapeutic drugs, diagnostic tools or other measures of public health and social protection. Because of all the above, it is imperative to carry out continuous sequencing of this pathogen.

Objective: The main goal of this research was to obtain the highest quality genomic sequences of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, to compare the obtained sequences with the reference Wuhan-Hu-1 sequence and to obtain a high-quality genomic alignment in order to reconstruct the appropriate phylogenetic tree.

Serological testing for SARS-CoV-2 in Bosnia and Herzegovina: first report.

Introduction: Serological detection of SARS-CoV-2-specific immunoglobulins G (IgG) and M (IgM) antibodies is becoming increasingly important in the management of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: We report the first results of COVID-19 serological testing in Bosnia and Herzegovina on 2841 samples collected and analysed in 2 medical institutions in Sarajevo. Antibody detection was performed using commercially available kits.