Most Brazilian coronavirus strains had origins in Europe, study finds
- Researchers from Brazil and Britain find 75 per cent of strains in country can be genetically traced to three groups from Europe
- President Jair Bolsonaro has faced heavy criticism for downplaying risk from Covid-19 after it was first detected in China late last year
Most coronavirus strains found in Brazil had their origins in Europe, scientists have concluded.
The country has the second highest number of cases in the world, behind the United States, and President Jair Bolsonaro has been widely criticised for downplaying the risk from Covid-19, which has killed more than 87,600 people in Brazil.
The disease was first detected in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December, but the research published in the journal Science concluded that 75 per cent of the strains found in Brazil had their origins in three groups, or clades, that originated in Europe in late February and early March.
Their findings indicate that community-driven transmission was already established in Brazil by early March, suggesting that international travel restrictions imposed after this period would have had a limited impact.
The genome test was conducted after gathering 26,732 samples from public and private laboratories in the country. Nearly 30 per cent of these tested positive for the virus.
The researchers, from Brazil and the UK, said most strains appeared to have entered the country through internationally well-connected states such as Sao Paulo and Minas Gerais.