Here’s the bad news that neither you want to hear nor we want to provide: Monkeypox has been around since 2017. The recent outbreak of the disease has already affected 780 individuals in 27 countries, and more names are being added to this list as you read this. . However, what has puzzled scientists about the virus is why it has suddenly become a threat to shake around the world after remaining inert for decades. The answer to this question lies in the analysis of his DNA.
Sequencing of the monkeypox virus genome confirmed that the virus that caused the recent outbreak was closely linked to fewer cases found in Israel, Nigeria, Singapore and the United Kingdom between 2017 and 2019. Until now, monkeypox was thought to be endemic in the African region, and this outbreak is the first time the virus has left the continent and embarked on a major world tour in new countries.
“Therefore, we assume that the model we see … means that there has been a long-term human-to-human transmission since at least 2017,” wrote Ein O’Toole and a team from the University of Edinburgh in the United Kingdom. from IANS.
It has been reported that there have been up to 47 changes in DNA letters in the latest viruses compared to these earlier cases. These changes are very rapid, given that the monkeypox virus has previously tended to spread slowly.
Three of the 10 monkeypox viruses sequenced in the United States also show some differences, while being linked to the virus from 2017, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
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The good news, however, is that researchers have found that existing viruses are less suitable than those of 2017 because they go through mutations at a rapid rate, and this proves detrimental to them.
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