Capital outbreak may be more infectious than Wuhan one: virologist

The coronavirus found in Beijing’s Xinfadi wholesale market is probably more infectious than those detected in Wuhan’s Huanan seafood market, where the first wave of epidemic in the country was detected, given a significant number of cases confirmed in only four days in the capital city, a virologist said on Monday.

Yang Zhanqiu, deputy director of the pathogen biology department at Wuhan University, told the Global Times that 79 cases were confirmed in four days, showing the coronavirus found in Beijing is extremely contagious, likely more contagious than one found in Wuhan.

A researcher from the Beijing Center for Diseases Prevention and Control told China Central Television (CCTV) in a telephone interview that the genome sequencing of the strain of the coronavirus which caused the new COVID-19 outbreak in Beijing at the Xinfadi wholesale food market shows it originated from Europe.

Yang said that if the type of coronavirus spreading in Beijing matches the type of virus sampled in the Xinfadi market and from Europe, then it is safe to say that the virus found in Beijing was “brought into” China by contaminated food or people from Europe.

Yang said the genotype of the virus does not mutate in the short term. The mutation usually occurs after two or three years, to even 10 or 20 years. And different virus test results show different genotypes, with the detection of the difference easy to tell.

Yang noted that although the test sample was large enough and the technical ability was strong, the fact that 79 patients were diagnosed in four days in Beijing is still exceeding the expectations.

What makes people optimistic is that China has accumulated rich experience in epidemic prevention and a strong joint prevention mechanism, and quickly adopted measures to contain the epidemic, he said.