A team of Portuguese researchers has released the first draft of the genome sequence of the Monkeypox virus, known as “monkey smallpox”. The genomic sequence of Monkeypox was developed by a group of researchers from the Instituto Nacional de Saúde Doutor Ricardo Jorge (INSA), in Lisbon. The article was published in site virological.
The researchers, led by João Paulo Gomes, reported that the result was obtained by the swab method collected on May 4 in skin lesions of a male patient. According to the study, the first analysis of the genome sketch indicates that the 2022 virus belongs to the West African region and is more related to the monkeypox virus, exported from Nigeria in 2018 and 2019 to countries such as the United Kingdom, Israel. and Singapore.
According to the publication, the preliminary data will be updated with the release of new genome data, “which will be important to elucidate the origin and international spread of the virus currently circulating”.
On Twitter, the director of the South African Epidemic Research Center, the Brazilian Túlio de Oliveira, said that “it is a new level of sharing scientific data”, that is, they are released as they are produced.
“This is amazing, ‘The genome sequences will be further refined (to refine low-coverage regions, indels and homopolymer tracts) as soon as Illumina’s high-depth data are available (sequencing in progress).'” he said.
monkeypox
In May of this year, cases of monkeypox were recorded in several countries, such as Portugal, the United Kingdom, Spain, Sweden, Belgium and the United States. Scientists analyze the introduction and rapid spread of the disease in these countries.
For researchers, the determination of the genomic sequence of the virus that causes these infections should contribute to a better understanding of the epidemiology, sources of infection and transmission patterns.
CameraPox
According to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI), so far, there is no record of monkeypox cases in Brazil. Last week, the ministry set up, in an advisory capacity, a temporary technical research chamber called CâmaraPox MCTI, to monitor scientific developments on the virus.
The measure follows the same idea as the formation of RedeVírus MCTI, a committee of experts established in February 2020, even before the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the covid-19 pandemic. The committee of experts provides technical-scientific advice to the Ministry on the strategies and needs in the area of science, technology and innovation needed in the health area.
