Chinese strain of coronavirus has more potent chromosomes than Pakistani one: Dr Atta

Former chairman of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) Prof Dr Atta-ur-Rehman said on Monday that new research suggests that the strain of coronavirus spreading in Pakistan is not similar to the one that originated in China's Wuhan.

The respected Pakistani scientist, who specialises in organic chemistry, said the Chinese strain of the coronavirus has different chromosomes than the Pakistani variant.

"The Chinese strain has more potent chromosomes than the Pakistani strain of the coronavirus," he said in a conversation on Geo News.

The scientist said the revelation came during recent research carried out at the Jamil-ur-Rahman Center for Genome Research at the University of Karachi.

A global race is on to better understand the novel coronavirus. Scientists and virologists around the world have been racing against the clock to develop a vaccine or cure before the virus overwhelms health systems and cripples the global economy.

Meanwhile, China seems to have bounced back from the overwhelming force of the coronavirus onslaught, which began in late December. The original epicentre of the virus, Hubei province's Wuhan city, has seen a partial removal of lockdown last week and things are slowly returning to normal.

On the other hand, Pakistan is just beginning to feel the impact of the virus's outbreak, which has claimed 19 lives so far and infected more than 1,600.

Chinese authorities have been helping Pakistan attempt to overcome the challenge presented by the pandemic by lending medical aid and doctors who are sharing their expertise.

On March 28, Chinese flights carrying a third installment of medical supplies and a team of doctors had arrived in Pakistan.

Meanwhile, the world is still struggling to contain the disease, with the epicentre now shifting to the US from Europe.

More than 33,000 deaths have been recorded globally, of which most have been in Europe since the virus first emerged in December.

More than 723,000 virus cases have been registered in 200 countries and territories of which the majority have been in Europe, the worst-hit continent so far.