2 OTHERS SIMILAR TO SAMPLES FROM JAPAN, AUSTRALIA

4 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from Metro Manila cluster closely with samples from China

The Philippine Genome Center (PGC) found that four viral genome sequences of SARS-CoV-2 from Metro Manila patients cluster closely with samples collected from Shanghai, China.

Two other sequences were found to be similar to samples collected from Japan and Australia.

PGC released the sequences

SARS-CoV-2 is the official name of the virus which causes the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

The samples came from COVID-19 cases who have no travel history outside the Philippines, which means that they are community-acquired infections.

The specimens were collected between March 22 to 28 by a team of physicians and epidemiologists from the UP National Institutes of Health and the Philippine General Hospital.

The sample from Shanghai was collected on February 4  while the samples from Japan and Australia were collected from February 15 to March 14.

Scientists all over the world have been using genome sequences of the virus to predict its history.

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According to a report from the New York Times, as mutations accumulate in coronavirus genomes, "they allow scientists to track the spread of COVID-19 around the world." 

The six specimens were collected as part of GenAmplify rRT-PCR testing kit field validation. —Kaela Malig/MGP, GMA News