News & Perspective

(CIDRAP News) – Researchers from the Erasmus University lab that first identified the novel coronavirus implicated in two severe infections have published its full genome sequence, which they and other European scientists used to develop two assays to help confirm any future infections.

British health officials said today that a Rotterdam lab that first characterized the novel coronavirus linked recently to two severe illnesses hopes to publish the whole genome in the next 24 to 48 hours, and the UK's Health Protection Agency (HPA) launched guidance to help clinicians investigate and manage possible cases.