Scientists Unveil Coronavirus Genome That Arrived in Argentina

Scientists from the National Administration of Laboratories and Health Institutes Carlos Malbran (ANLIS-Malbran) announced that they sequenced the complete genomes of three patients with the SARS-COV-2.

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“We established the origin of the viruses: one of them is from the U.S., another from Europe, and another from Asia. This is a first step to start to see what the autochthonous circulation strains are like,” the ANLIS-Malbran director Claudia Perandones told local outlet Pagina12.

The coronavirus circulating in Argentina is not the same one that began circulating in December 2019 in Wuhan, China. Since then, the SARS-COV-2 virus has not stopped mutating as it spread through different countries.

Until now, however, scientists did not know the specific characteristics or geographic origins of the strains circulating in Argentine territory.​​​​​​​

"We are going to sequence the virus with as many patients as possible ... the important thing is to collect many samples to determine what association genome mutations have with the behavior of the virus in people," Perandones mentioned.

"If we can do it, we could establish the mortality level of each strain, the severity with which each strain attacks, symptoms, and modes of transmission. We will surely find mutations produced within the country," she explained.

On Wednesday, Argentina's President Alberto Fernandez visited the professionals who work at ANLIS-Malbran to congratulate them and thank them for their dedication.

"I admire the work that our scientists do at the Malbran Institute, at the same place where two Argentine Nobel Laureates worked: Bernardo Houssay and Cesar Milstein," Fernandez said.​​​​​​​