UK scientists susubaybayan ang mutations ng coronavirus
LONDON (Reuters) -Susubaybayan ng UK scientists ang pagkalat ng bagong coronavirus at babantayan ang emerging mutations sa pamamagitan ng paggamit ng gene sequencing para i-analyze ang strains na nagdudulot ng libulibong COVID-19 infections sa buong bansa, sinabi ng Britain nitong Lunes.
Kokolekta ang mga mananaliksik ng data mula sa samples ng infected patients sa England, Wales, Scotland at Northern Ireland, sinabi ng gobyerno sa isang pahayag.
May 281 Britons na ang namatay sa COVID-19, ang sakit na dulot ng bagong coronavirus na kumalat na sa buong mundo at naging isang pandemic.
“This virus is one of the biggest threats our nation has faced in recent times, and crucial to helping us fight it is understanding how it is spreading,” sinabi ni Sharon Peacock, director of Public Health England’s (PHE) national infection service.
Magtatrabaho ng grupp-grupo sa buong Britain, imamapa ng scientists at pag-aaralan ang full genetic codes ng COVID-19 samples.
“Genomic sequencing will help us understand COVID-19 and its spread. It can also help guide treatments in the future and see the impact of interventions,” sinabi ni Patrick Vallance, ang chief scientific adviser ng gobyerno, sa isang pahayag.
Sa epidemics, makatutulong ang genome sequencing para ma-monitor ng scientists ang maliliit na pagbabago sa virus sa national obinternational scale upang maintindihan kung paano ito kumakalat at kung umuusbong ang iba’t ibang strains.
“Right now, the important questions we can help answer with sequencing are to help understand the role of international importations into the UK,” sinabi ni Nick Loman, professor ng microbial genomics and bioinformatics sa Birmingham University.
Ang 20 million pound ($23 million) project, tinatawag na COVID-19 Genomics UK Consortium, ay katuwang na pamumunuan ng Wellcome Sanger Institute, na dalubhasa sa genetic research, PHE at iba pang public health agencies, gayundin ng National Health Service at ilang academic institutions.
“All viruses accumulate mutations over time, some faster than others,” sinabi ni Paul Klenerman, professor sa Oxford University na makakasama sa proyekto. “For Covid-19, this has only just begun but this emerging variation can be tracked in detail.”