Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection remains a significant public health concern, particularly in Africa, where there is a substantial burden. HBV is an enveloped virus, with isolates being classified into ten phylogenetically distinct genotypes (A - J) determined based on full-genome sequence data or reverse hybridization-based diagnostic tests. In practice, limitations are noted in that diagnostic sequencing, generally using Sanger sequencing, tends to focus only on the S-gene, yielding little or no information on intra-patient HBV genetic diversity with very low-frequency variants and reverse hybridization detects only known genotype-specific mutations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe global pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 has increased the demand for scalable sequencing and diagnostic methods, especially for genomic surveillance. Although next-generation sequencing has enabled large-scale genomic surveillance, the ability to sequence SARS-CoV-2 in some settings has been limited by the cost of sequencing kits and the time-consuming preparations of sequencing libraries. We compared the sequencing outcomes, cost and turn-around times obtained using the standard Illumina DNA Prep kit protocol to three modified protocols with fewer clean-up steps and different reagent volumes (full volume, half volume, one-tenth volume).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Over 4 million SARS-CoV-2 genomes have been sequenced globally in the past 2 years. This has been crucial in elucidating transmission chains within communities, the development of new diagnostic methods, vaccines, and antivirals. Although several sequencing technologies have been employed, Illumina and Oxford Nanopore remain the two most commonly used platforms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSevere acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is adaptively evolving to ensure its persistence within human hosts. It is therefore necessary to continuously monitor the emergence and prevalence of novel variants that arise. Importantly, some mutations have been associated with both molecular diagnostic failures and reduced or abrogated next-generation sequencing (NGS) read coverage in some genomic regions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in southern Africa has been characterized by three distinct waves. The first was associated with a mix of SARS-CoV-2 lineages, while the second and third waves were driven by the Beta (B.1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe rapid identification and isolation of infected individuals remains a key strategy for controlling the spread of SARS-CoV-2. Frequent testing of populations to detect infection early in asymptomatic or presymptomatic individuals can be a powerful tool for intercepting transmission, especially when the viral prevalence is low. However, RT-PCR testing-the gold standard of SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis-is expensive, making regular testing of every individual unfeasible.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWith the emergence of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants that may increase transmissibility and/or cause escape from immune responses, there is an urgent need for the targeted surveillance of circulating lineages. It was found that the B.1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWith the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants that may increase transmissibility and/or cause escape from immune responses , there is an urgent need for the targeted surveillance of circulating lineages. It was found that the B.1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF