The deadly novel coronavirus or COVID-19 has been spreading around the world in recent times as researchers are working to find a cure for the disease. Now, a top German virologist Alexander Kekule stated on Thursday that the coronavirus that has been rampant around the world is not from the Chinese city of Wuhan located in the Hubei province but a mutation from northern Italy, as reported by CGTN.
The strain from Italy, which is called the 'G' mutant and has genetic mutations, explained Professor Kekule on the ZDF talk show. It is probably going to be more contagious than the variant discovered in Wuhan, which was once the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in China.
COVID-19 Origin
More than 99 percent of the coronavirus cases can be genetically traced back to the variant from Italy and even the current cases of the disease in China are re-imported from Europe and the rest of the world, the German news organization Weser Courier confirmed citing the virologist.
The expert also noted that for a global pandemic, the beginning shot was fired in northern Italy. The virologist stated that the long ignorance of Italy for the warnings from China and the lack of countermeasures are to be blamed, otherwise, the original virus can have been got under control.
The deadly virus outbreak has created a major stir around the world in recent times infecting more than 61.7 million people globally and claimed the lives of over 1.4 million worldwide in over 170 nations. An effective vaccine is expected by the first quarter of 2021.
However, Russia had already registered a vaccine named 'Sputnik' in August, which raised questions around the world regarding its efficacy. Many experts raised their concerns that the vaccine was not tested properly before it got tested. However, Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed the vaccine to be safe and effective.
