The virus that causes Covid-19 has been circulating in people since late last year, and must have spread extremely quickly after the first infection, a new genetic analysis shows
A new genetic analysis of the virus that causes Covid-19 taken from more than 7,600 patients around the world shows it has been circulating in people since late last year, and must have spread extremely quickly after the first infection.
Researchers in Britain looked at mutations in the virus and found evidence of quick spread, but no evidence the virus is becoming more easily transmitted or more likely to cause serious disease."The virus is changing, but this in itself does not mean it's getting worse," genetics researcher Francois Balloux of the University College London Genetics Institute told CNN.
"Just because these studies tell us these mutations are quickly spreading or becoming dominant doesn't mean anything except we know it happened. It doesn't actually tell us anything about what's happening biologically," Warmbrod told CNN.Reports about mutations can be important for teams working on drugs and vaccines to fight the coronavirus. Vaccines, especially, need to target parts of the virus that are conserved -- that do not change much over time.
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