China claims Beijing's new Covid outbreak from Europe but older than latest European virus

The new wave of novel coronavirus traced at the Xinfadi market in Beijing, China, has come from Europe, the Chinese health officials claimed. However, the recent outbreak of coronavirus found in Beijing's Xinfadi market varies with their current outbreak, as it is older than the current European coronavirus, the Chinese health officials further claimed based on their preliminary research results.

The large numbers of samples found in Xinfadi wholesale market indicate that the virus has been around for some time. If the virus had barely just arrived in the city for a short period of time, there may not have been so many positive samples found, hence, we need more data before making an informed decision about its origin, said Zhang Yong, assistant director of National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

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The only way to determine the lifespan of the Europe based virus is to study the Genomic epidemiology. This includes the sequencing of the whole genome before putting all the different viruses together to see which virus has more mutations; that is, those with more mutations normally suggest an updated virus, whereas those with fewer mutations closer to the original virus, and they are much older, circulating for a longer period of time compared to recently discovered viruses, informed an official.

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The Director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Gao Fu, on Tuesday asserted that the Beijing's recent outbreak probably did not occur in late May or early June, but it probably started spreading a month earlier. During the specific outbreak, many asymptomatic or mild cases were detected, and that is why the environment has such a large amount of recorded samples Gao added.

High chances for the new coronavirus to spread in dark, humid, and polluted environments, which may catch some residents unexpected. If locals at the wholesale markets had been infected, it would have likely been exposed to many people very quickly, Gao added.

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There are several possibilities being discussed about the first transmission of the virus into the country. For instance, the virus may have lived in imported frozen foods, and did not mutate due to the frozen environment throughout the entire storage and transportation period, from overseas all the way to China, Zhang stated.  

Epidemiological investigation and important data may find connections between cases, but it may also fail to determine which individuals have been spreading the virus Zhang said. The scientists are leaving no stone unturned to find out how did the virus from Europe arrive at Beijing's Xinfadi market. 

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