New Beijing coronavirus genome data suggests European strain
The genome sequencing data for the coronavirus responsible for a recent outbreak in Beijing has been released by China. Based on preliminary studies, officials claim that they have identified a European strain.
Officials from China said that they have also sent the data to the WHO, the country has been under pressure to make the data public sooner as COVID-19 cases mount in the nation’s capital. The United States administration had blamed the Chinese government for not managing the initial break out in central China effectively and moving too slowly to contain the epidemic, resulting in an increase in cases and fatalities in the U.S.
However, China has declined that accusation, claiming that it wasted no time at all in releasing info regarding the epidemic as well as the genome sequence of the initial coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, China. In the current Beijing outbreak, the WHO claimed that it had been informed by the Chinese of the extent of the infections and the ongoing examinations into the source of the cluster. It asked for the genetic sequences to be made available at the earliest.
The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the viral genome sequencing was published late on 18th June 2020 and had also been sent to the WHO and the Global Influenza Data Initiative (GISAID). In the diagnosis of the COVID-19 and in understanding the spread and also control of the new coronavirus, the virus genome sequencing is a crucial and rapidly-developing tool.
The Beijing genome data was based on three samples – 2 human and one environmental sample – collected on June 11, 2020, according to the data published on China’s National Microbiology Data Center website. The day coincided with the day the Chinese capital reported its very first new local COVID-19 case in months. Beijing has reported an overall of 183 cases in the eight days since, linked to the Xinfadi’s sprawling wholesale food center.
Zhang Yong, CDC official, cited a saying in an article published on Friday by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection on its website. According to preliminary genomic and epidemiological research outcomes, the virus is from Europe; however, it is different from the virus presently spreading in Europe, it’s older than the virus presently spreading in European countries.
NOT FROM BEIJING
The Beijing strain was similar to Europe’s. Although not necessarily directly transmitted from European nations, the strains found in the U.S. and Russia were mostly from Europe, said Wu Zunyou, the CDC’s chief epidemiology expert. However, Wu did not clarify those remarks made before the genome data release.
The initial cluster of new coronavirus was traced in December in the Huanan seafood market in Wuhan. Since then, it has infected almost 8.5 million people worldwide. Wu commented that it did not emerge from the Chinese capital.
Wu claimed that it should be some people or goods outside of the city that transmitted or carried the virus into the (Xinfadi) market, but it’s unclear who, or what kind of items, had brought the virus into the city.
Retail stores and food dealers in Beijing have actually stepped up testing on items consisting of seafood and meat. Some residents have taken to stockpiling with the closure of Xinfadi, Beijing’s most significant wholesale grocery store, although authorities have promised sufficient supplies.
Author: Sruthi S
