Chinese scientists have reportedly completed the genome sequencing of the first case of imported Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), and found that the virus has no evidence of variation that would make it more contagious, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
The report said that the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, in cooperation with the health department of Guangdong Province, accomplished the genome sequencing on June 3, Wednesday, where the case was reported on May 29.
The genome map of the virus shows high homology with MERS-CoV detected in the Middle East, which was believed to have originated in Saudi Arabia.
The report said that the sequencing result has been uploaded to GenBank at National Center for Biotechnology Information in the United States.
The patient from the Republic of Korea (ROK) who tested positive for MERS is now confined and still being treated at Huizhou Municipal Central Hospital in Guangdong.
Scientists may find effective measures to prevent the spread of the virus by testing and comparing genome sequence of different strains.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed 40 cases of MERS in ROK and one in China.
"Understandably, populations in China are worried because of the history of SARS," WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier told Xinhua. He added, however, that SARS and MERS are part of the same family of viruses, but there has been no report of human-to-human transmission so far.
Lindmeier stressed that there are still many unknowns regarding the virus, which was first reported in 2012 in Saudi Arabia.
The report said that this makes monitoring and sequencing of the virus important, as well sensitization of health services for the proper examination and treatment of at-risk patients.