The coronavirus in Bangladesh shares most similarities with those from European sources, the Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR) said after completing genome sequencing of Covid-19.
BCSIR completed sequencing of three Covid-19 cases at its laboratory.
The detailed information of the sequencing success was displayed at Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID), said a press release of Science and Technology Ministry.
“According to analysis, this Bangladeshi virus has 99.99 percent similarity with European sources, particularly Sweden,” said Dr Md Selim Khan, Principal Scientific Officer, project director and the team leader of the researchers.
Data analysis showed that nine variants were available at the amino acid level.
Twenty-three complete sequencing data, including three from BCSIR, are not enough for detail knowledge or to come to a conclusion, the media statement said.
Bangladesh needs more sequencing data from different places to speed up its research activities including that of developing a vaccine.
Earlier, Science and Technology Minister Yeafesh Osman and the ministry’s secretary directed to collect samples from all possible places of the country and sequence them at genomic research laboratory of BCSIR.
“Once the work is done, it will help develop antidote, medicine and vaccine,” the statement said. UNB
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