Scientists in fear: Co-infection discovered
Scientists from the southern part of Brazil announced that they discovered two patients infected with two different strains of coronavirus at the same time.
Source: Tanjug
They said they were very concerned and that their study was the first in the world to confirm co-infection with two strains of coronavirus.
The discovery was published on the medical site "medRxiv.org", and the study has yet to go through the review process and be published in a scientific journal, Reuters reports.
Both patients are in their thirties, and were infected at the end of November with strain P.2, which was identified in Rio de Janeiro, while they tested positive for another mutation of the virus.
They showed mild symptoms of the disease, such as dry cough in one patient and cough, sore throat and headache in another, and none of them required hospital treatment.
The cases draw attention to how many mutations there might already be in Brazil and cause scientists to worry that coinfection with different strains could accelerate the emergence of new mutations, according to Reuters.
That would present a new evolutionary path for the virus, scientists conclude.
