Huddersfield University reveals Europe as main source of Covid-19 spread
Scientists studied 27,000 samples to track the spread of the virus
In just three to four months, coronavirus was officially detected in at least 200 countries, causing a global pandemic with around 22 million infected individuals and more than 1 million deaths.
The University of Huddersfield's Archaeogenetics Research Group has mapped out the dispersal of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, responsible for the current worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, to help better understand the spread of the virus.
The group’s findings, confirm that the virus originated in China and most likely jumped into humans from horseshoe bats.
But that it is Europe, not China, which has been the main source for spreading the disease around the world.
The research also suggests that travel restrictions across Britain and Europe seem to have been too little and too late and that the actual spread of the virus to America and other parts of the world was largely via Europe, and not directly from China.
The study focused on 27,000 virus genomes, sampled from all around the world.
The mammoth size of the database, even back in May when the study began, makes this one of the biggest analyses of its kind ever undertaken.
The analyses were carried out by clinical geneticist Dr Teresa Rito and evolutionary geneticist Dr Pedro Soares.
Professor Richards explained how there is a huge ongoing worldwide effort to understand the spread of the coronavirus and that researchers are trying to make their work available to the public as fast as possible.
As the world continues to face a rapidly spreading pathogen, Dr Pala believes a greater understanding of the virus will better inform and improve upon policies designed to control the spread.
“With thousands of lives still at risk,” added Dr Pala, “the need for scientific research is now more crucial than ever.”