Japanese research institutions clarify: Japanese epidemic strains only have a small amount of base variation

  Xinhua News Agency, Tokyo, August 9th (Reporter Hua Yi) In response to the report by Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun that the mutant new coronavirus that has spread in Japan since June has a new gene sequence, experts from the National Institute of Infectious Diseases of Japan accepted Xinhua on the 9th. In an email interview, the reporter said that this report was a false report. In fact, only a small amount of base mutations have occurred in the current Japanese coronavirus strain.

  Japan's "Yomiuri Shimbun" reported on the 8th that the latest study by the National Institute of Infectious Diseases in Japan found that the epidemic in Japan has expanded since March this year, mainly caused by the new coronavirus of European related gene sequences, but it has temporarily subsided in late May. The new coronavirus that has spread in Japan since June is a mutated new coronavirus with a new genetic sequence. At present, the large number of confirmed cases of new crown in Japan are mostly infected with this new crown virus after mutation.

  In response, Makoto Kuroda, director of the Research Center for Pathogen Genome Analysis at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases of Japan, told Xinhua News Agency reporters that the above report was a false report, and he subsequently received many contacts requesting confirmation of relevant research details. From the original report sent by Makoto Kuroda to Xinhua News Agency reporters, it can be seen that the new coronavirus strains currently circulating in Japan have only undergone 6 base mutations based on the previous European-related gene sequences of the new coronavirus. This strain with a small amount of base mutation may begin to spread from Tokyo to the whole of Japan in late June.

  The report shows that the time of this study is as of July 16. The researchers analyzed the viral genome sequences of more than 3,600 people infected with the new crown virus in Japan and 67 people who entered the country by flight, and published the global sequence with researchers from around the world. The viral genome sequences of about 46,000 people infected with the new coronavirus were compared.

  Studies have shown that from a global perspective, from the end of 2019 to July this year, the new coronavirus genome has an average of about 15 base mutations randomly.