Scientists said that the picture and the findings are published in the latest edition of the Indian Journal of Medical Research
Setting an example for the world at large, Indian scientists have revealed a microscopy image of SARS-CoV-2 viral strain which causes the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the individuals that it affects. Scientists examined a sample extracted from the saliva of a woman who returned from China's Wuhan and managed to fetch a photo of the virus under an electron microscope.
Scientists said that the picture and the findings are published in the latest edition of the Indian Journal of Medical Research (IJMR), the journal of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
The woman whose throat swab sample was taken is also the first individual to have tested positive for COVID-19 in India, reported on January 30 in Kerala.
Scientists at the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune on January 30 examined the throat swab samples of three students who returned from China's Wuhan. These three girl students are the first laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases in India. The virologists said that the throat swab and saliva samples of these three young women were being tested at the NIV laboratories, but until now, researchers had no idea about the structure of the SARS-CoV-2 viral strain. Now, in a first, Indian scientists have brought before the world the first images of the coronavirus strain, fetched under an electron microscope.
According to reports, scientists have confirmed that the viral strain has similarities with the earlier two species of the coronavirus which had an outbreak in the world - the Middle East respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and the Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus (SARSr-CoV) coronavirus. From this inference, it is apparent that the current strain of the SARS-CoV-2 is a close relative of the two earlier virus families.
In light of the heightened concern on the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in India, the country has been placed under complete lockdown for 21 days. Authorities have asked citizens to maintain strict social distancing to cut the spread of the virus outbreak.
As of 9 PM on Friday, around 863 people across India have been reported to have contracted the COVID-19 disease, as new cases were reported in Maharashtra, Telangana, and the Andamans this morning. The virus has affected around 553,244 people worldwide. The global death toll has crossed 25,000.
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 "Image of SARS-CoV-2 fetched by Indian scientists under an electron microscope")
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