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The following article claims that there are 3 strains, and Type C hit Singapore (and Malaysia?)
Caution: The academics’ published work – which has been scrutinised by fellow scientists – only traced the samples of 160 patients across the world, including many of the first cases in Europe and the US.
Excerpts from:
There are THREE distinct strains of the novel coronavirus in the world and while China’s epidemic was driven by an early mutation that quickly spread in the UK, the US is suffering from an original variation
- Type A is closest to the one found in bats and pangolins and has two sub-clusters
- One sub-cluster linked to Wuhan and the other is common in US and Australia
- Type B is derived from type A and has become the most prevalent in Wuhan
- Type C is the ‘daughter’ of type B and was spread to Europe via Singapore
By JOE PINKSTONE FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 15:12 BST, 9 April 2020 | UPDATED: 22:39 BST, 9 April 2020
Three types of the deadly coronavirus are spreading around the world – and the US is being rocked by the original strain from China.
Cambridge University researchers mapped the genetic history of the infection from December to March and found three distinct, but closely related, variants.
Analysis of the strains showed type A – the original virus that jumped to humans from bats via pangolins – was not China’s most common. Instead, the pandemic’s ground-zero was mainly hit by type B, which was in circulation as far back as Christmas Eve.
Results showed type A was the most prevalent in Australia and the US, which has recorded more than 400,000 COVID-19 cases. Two-thirds of American samples were type A – but infected patients mostly came from the West Coast, and not New York.
Dr Peter Forster and team found the UK was mostly being bombarded with type B cases, with three quarters of samples testing as that strain. Switzerland, Germany, France, Belgium and the Netherlands were also dominated by type B.
Another distinct variation, type C, descended from type B and spread to Europe via Singapore.
Scientists believe the virus – officially called SARS-CoV-2 – is constantly mutating to overcome immune system resistance in different populations.
Dr Peter Forster and team found the UK was mostly being bombarded with type B cases, with three quarters of samples testing as that strain. Switzerland, Germany, France, Belgium and the Netherlands were also dominated by type B
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The academics’ published work – which has been scrutinised by fellow scientists – only traced the samples of 160 patients across the world, including many of the first cases in Europe and the US.
For the full article:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-8204255/There-THREE-separate-types-coronavirus.html?ito=social-twitter_mailonline
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Excerpts from:
While racing to fully understand the structure of the new coronavirus, scientists around the world have discovered that there are eight specific strains affecting the globe.
These strains are all extremely similar and the virus shows only slow mutation – which buys time for those under pressure to develop a vaccine or effective treatment.
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How did the virus spread across the world?
The study showed that the virus spread from Wuhan, China to the UK via passengers travelling to South Korea and Singapore. From London’s largest airports, the virus then spread to the rest of Europe and the USA.
According to the scientists, there is “strong mixing of samples across Europe”, which suggests that the virus continued to move across borders in the last three to five weeks.
In the US, however, the viral samples from opposite sides of the country are almost identical. For instance, in the state of Washington, the virus has been introduced two times, and perhaps more. The origin is thought to either be China or Europe. The effect is visible as two separate chains of viral spread.
While the research gives more insight to the virus, sample numbers in some countries were too low to determine the exact spread, even though strains were similar.
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weehingthong 