Chennai: A latest study by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru has said the novel coronavirus in India may have originated from Europe, the Middle East, Oceania and South Asia regions.
The objective of the study was to determine the genetic diversity among Indian SARS-CoV-2 viral isolates in comparison to the strains that are occurring worldwide.
The observation is a part of the findings of the IISc team comprising Kumar Somasundaram, Mainak Mondal and Ankita Lawarde after analysing 294 Indian viral genomes.
According to the team, the potential origin appears to be countries mainly from Europe, the Middle East, Oceania and South Asia regions, which strongly implies the spread of virus through the most travelled countries.
It added: ‘Among different strains of the virus as identified by Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data, Indian SARS-CoV-2 viruses are enriched with G (50 per cent) and I (6.7 per cent) clades in addition to 40 per cent samples with unknown genetic variants.’