A Portuguese research group analyzed the genes of the virus in 15 patients in detail for monkeypox, which has been reported one after another mainly in Europe and the United States, and it seems that the infection spread from a single virus found in West Africa to various places. Was announced.
This was published in the international medical journal Nature Medicine by a Portuguese research group in which monkeypox cases have been reported one after another.
The group analyzed in detail the viral gene sequence data of 15 monkeypox patients confirmed in Portugal and elsewhere by the 27th of last month.
As a result, they were all of the same strain as the virus reported in Nigeria in West Africa around 2018, and the viruses of the 15 patients analyzed were all very close in gene sequence, so a single virus. It is likely that it has spread from.
In addition, the monkeypox virus is said to be less prone to mutation, but the analyzed virus showed about 50 mutations in the gene sequence, so the group needs to investigate further, but in the future. , It is suggested that the virus may adapt to humans.
Regarding this study, Professor Shigeru Morikawa of Okayama University of Science, who is familiar with monkeypox, said, "Since it is a study that analyzed the initial 15 people, it is thought that more patients will need to be analyzed in the future. Human-to-human transmission If it continues, mutations may accumulate and caution is required. "