Coronavirus may have jumped to humans as early as October, study says
- Researchers looked at 7,000 genome sequence assemblies collected from around the world to determine their most recent common ancestor
- Results suggest the global health crisis may have started at some point between October 6 and December 11
The pathogen, formally known as SARS-CoV-2, is thought to have made the jump from initial host to humans some time between October 6 and December 11 last year, according to an article released on Tuesday and set to be published in an upcoming edition of the scientific journal Infection, Genetics and Evolution.
The findings are based on analysis of more than 7,000 genome sequence assemblies collected from around the world since January. By examining the evolution of the mutations, researchers from University College London and the University of Reunion Island were able to rewind their molecular clocks to a common starting point.
They were also able to identify the major mutations to the coronavirus, which has continued to evolve since making the jump to humans.