Saturday, August 22, 2020

Guangdong Lufeng SARS-CoV-2 strain is highly homologous to Hong Kong epidemic strain

Reporter : Cai Mingjie / Editor : Chen Haifeng / Publisher : China News Network

Ref : http://www.chinanews.com/sh/2020/08-22/9271548.shtml

Translation, editing : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA

After a SARS-CoV-2 outbreak was reported in Lufeng City, Shanwei, Guangdong Province on 14 August 2020, Guangdong carried out virus traceability analysis. The People's Government of Guangdong Province held a press conference on epidemic prevention and control on 22 August 2020. Duan Yufei, Director of the Guangdong Provincial Health Commission, said at the meeting that the traceability results of the Lufeng epidemic virus are highly homologous to the Hong Kong epidemic strain.

Duan Yufei introduced that after the outbreak of the Lufeng epidemic, the Guangdong Provincial Health Commission worked with the Provincial Public Security Department, Shenzhen City, Shanwei City, and provincial (municipal) disease control centers to trace the source of the virus and find out the context of transmission. The virus genome sequencing was carried out for the first time, and nasopharyngeal swab samples from five cases of infection were taken, and the whole genome sequence of the virus was determined and analyzed for three generations. It was found that the virus genome sequences of these five cases were highly homologous.

After comparing and analyzing the whole genome sequence of nearly 80,000 covi in the global database, it was found that these five cases belong to the HK1 branch of the strain in Hong Kong, and are highly homologous to the virus sequence of the Hong Kong epidemic strain, with a homology percentage of 99.99%.

"In general, this epidemic is controlled in a local area, and the risk is generally controllable." Duan Yufei introduced that as of 8 o'clock on 22 August, a total of one confirmed case and eight cases of asymptomatic infections in Guangdong are reported. Among them, Shanwei City reported five cases and Shenzhen reported three cases. The eight cases of asymptomatic infection were found in key populations such as close contacts who have been put under management, and they were all colleagues or relatives of the patients.

Duan Yufei said that since close contacts and other key populations are still under medical observation, it is not ruled out that there will be sporadic cases or asymptomatic infections in the future. The current situation of epidemic prevention and control in Guangdong Province is still severe and complicated, and the risk of local sporadic cases still exists.



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 Picture, copyright by : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA