Coronavirus has mutated into two S and L strains, the latter appears to be far more aggressive, scientists have said, in a discovery which could hinder attempts to develop a vaccine.
Researchers at Peking University's School of Life Sciences and the Institut Pasteur of Shanghai discovered the virus has evolved into two major lineages - dubbed ‘L’ and ‘S’ types.
The older ‘S-type’ appears to be milder and less infectious, while the ‘L-type’ which emerged later, spreads quickly and currently accounts for around 70 per cent of cases.
Genetic studies were done on a U.S. adult who tested positive on January 21 showed that it is possible to be infected with both types.
The finding comes just days after health experts warned that the virus could become a global pandemic and growing fears in the science corridors that some vaccines might not work on mutated strains.
The more aggressive type of virus was found to be prevalent in the early stages of the outbreak in Wuhan — the Chinese city where COVID-19 was first detected late last year.
But the frequency of this type of virus has since decreased from early January.
The researchers said their results indicate the development of new variations of the spike in COVID-19 cases was “likely caused by mutations and natural selection besides recombination.”
“These findings strongly support an urgent need for further immediate, comprehensive studies that combine genomic data, epidemiological data, and chart records of the clinical symptoms of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19),” they said.
Researchers cautioned that data examined in the study was still “very limited,” emphasizing that follow-up studies of a larger set of data would be needed to gain a “better understanding” of the evolution and epidemiology of COVID-19.
The study comes shortly after the WHO confirmed the fast-spreading virus had infected more than 93,000 people worldwide, with at least 3,100 deaths.
The vast majority of those cases have been reported in China, although the number of new daily infections overseas has now exceeded those in the world’s second-largest economy.
South Korea, Italy, Iran and Germany have all recorded sharp upticks in cases of the flu-like virus in recent days, with many countries imposing travel restrictions on virus-hit areas worldwide.
The outbreak has now spread to more than 70 countries including Nigeria, Algeria, Egypt in Africa, the World Health Organisation - WHO has warned that #Coronavirus could soon reach most, “if not all,” nations around the world.
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