The first cases of coronavirus infection occurred in Italy at the end of January, a few weeks before it was diagnosed in the first patient. Such findings of Italian molecular biologists were published in the medRxiv electronic scientific library.

" At the same time, it cannot be ruled out that the virus entered Italy along several routes at once, "

Molecular biologists from the University of Milan and doctors from the Luigi Sacco Hospital came to this conclusion by deciphering the genomes of the virus samples that were extracted from the bodies of the first three victims of COVID-19 in Lombardy. Further, experts compared them among themselves, as well as with SARS-CoV-2 samples from other regions of Europe.

Their calculations indicated that all Italian virus samples were related to each other by very close relatives. In addition, they were similar to those SARS-CoV-2 strains that physicians isolated from the body of the first victims of COVID-19 in Germany in the last third of January. Moreover, despite the fact that all three samples of the virus were extracted by physicians from the bodies of Italian patients on the same day, there were several different mutations in their genomes.

All this, as the researchers note, suggests that the virus appeared in Italy quite early.. In addition, it follows that he could have infiltrated Lombardy from both China and Germany..

This happened, according to scientists, between January 20 and February 16, when the Italian version of the virus penetrated Brazil, Mexico and several European countries..

It was reported the day before that Italy overtook China in mortality from COVID-19. Over the past day in Italy recorded 427 new deaths from coronavirus. A total of 3405 people died in the country, and 3245 in China.

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