Researchers at the Dept. of Hygiene conduct full-genome evolutionary analysis of the novel corona virus (2019-nCoV)
A study conducted at the Department of Hygiene, Epidemiology and Medical Statistics (DHEMS) of the School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA), provided a full-genome evolutionary analysis of the novel coronoa virus (2019-nCoV), responsible for the recent epidemic which initiated in Wuhan, China.
The results of the study suggest that the 2019-nCoV probably originated from a corona virus infecting bats. Moreover, it appears that the virus that infected humans is not the result of a recent genetic recombination, a mechanism that can alter dramatically the genetic makeup and biological characteristic of a virus.
The study entitled: «Full-genome evolutionary analysis of the novel corona virus (2019-nCoV) rejects the hypothesis of emergence as a result of a recent recombination event» was conducted by Drs. Dimitrios Paraskevis, Evangelia-Georgia Kostaki and Gkikas Magiorkinis at DHEMS, School of Medicine, NKUA; Dr. Georgios Panayiotakopoulos, School of Medicine, University of Patras and Vice Chair of the Hellenic National Public Health Organization; Dr. Georgios Sourvinos, School of Medicine, University of Crete; and Dr. Sotirios Tsiodras, School of Medicine, NKUA.
The study was published in the journal Infection Genetics and Evolution (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1567134820300447) and is also available on the bioRvix preprint server (https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.01.26.920249v1)
Relevant news reports can be found in the following links:
https://virus.com.gr/ereyna-ellinon-epistimonon-gia-ton-koronoio/
https://www.tovima.gr/2020/02/01/society/koronoios-elliniki-meleti-deixnei-tin-pigi-tou-kakou/
