Seven coronavirus cases traced back to single English football match by scientists who found 40 mutations of disease
SCIENTISTS believe they have found 40 mutations of coronavirus - and say seven cases can be traced back to a single football match in England.
The mutations were discovered by analysing swabs of Covid-19 patients in Iceland - where almost 600 cases have been reported so far.
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It comes as the number of those infected with coronavirus across the world continues to rise - with cases in 183 countries.
In the UK the death toll hit 422 today, with 8,077 people infected.
And in the daily Government press conference, Health Secretary Matt Hancock called for 250,000 Brits to sign up as volunteers to help the 1.5million people self-isolating for the next 12 weeks.
The new findings - which have not yet been published, meaning they have yet to be scrutinised by other experts - show cases in Iceland could be traced back to three countries, England, Austria and Italy.
But, one stand out discovery, was the fact seven infected people all went to the same, undisclosed football match in England.
It comes as:
- Sadiq Khan REFUSES to up train capacity as Brits continue to cram on to busy Tubes
- Boris Johnson texts EVERY Brit to tell them to stay home
- Cops warn they may not be able to cope with enforcing lockdown rules
- Landlords have been holding prohibition-style lock-ins despite the ban
- Brits have been making each other laugh with hilarious coronavirus memes
- Dr Hillary answers your coronavirus concerns HERE
The team of Icelandic scientists used genetic sequencing to identify how many mutations the virus had undergone.
These genetic variations are like viral fingerprints - and help boffins pinpoint where in the world a virus originated.
All viruses undergo mutations as they evolve, which may or may not cause them to behave in different ways.
Some mutations will make a virus more infectious, others more deadly.
Mutating is the process that would have allowed this new strain of coronavirus to attack the human body in the first place - allowing it to pass from its animal host.
Scientists believe the new coronavirus remained hidden in animals for years, perhaps even decade before jumping from bats to humans, via a possible but unknown animal, in the Chinese city of Wuhan.
Icelandic scientists investigated the virus within their own country, where one death has been reported.
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The health authorities there, along with genetics firm DeCode Genetics, tested 9,768 people for coronavirus, according to Information.
This included anyone who had been diagnosed, as well as people with symptoms or those in high risk groups for Covid-19.
Some 5,000 volunteers who did not have any symptoms joined the study – 48 of whom actually tested positive.
Complete genome sequencing was carried out and this unveiled clues about how the bug has evolved and the chain of transmission.
Kári Stefánsson, director of DeCode Genetics, said: "We can see how viruses mutate.
"We have found 40 island-specific virus mutations.
"We found someone who had a mixture of viruses.
"They had viruses from before and after the mutation, and the only infections traceable to that person are the mutated virus."
One person was found to carry two variants of the coronavirus.
DeCode Genetics was able to trace how the virus entered Iceland, an island nation home to around 365,000 people.
Dr Stefánsson added: "Some came from Austria. There is another type from people who were infected in Italy.
"And there is a third type of virus found in people infected in England.
"Seven people had attended a football match in England."
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The study has not yet been published, meaning it hasn't yet been analysed by other scientists.
Dr Derek Gatherer, an infectious disease specialist at Lancaster University, revealed he was not surprised with the findings.
He told the MailOnline: "This is much as we would expect. All viruses accumulate mutations, but few of them are of much medical consequence.
"They are valuable in tracing the origins of infection chains.
"It looks like Iceland has imported quite a few infections from other European countries."
Allan Randrup Thomsen, a virologist from the Department of Immunology and Microbiology at the University of Copenhagen, said the results described by the team "make good sense".
Professor Thomsen said: "Coronavirus is known as a virus that can mutate reasonably violently.
"We have seen reports of variants from China already. That way, it fits well with what one expects."
Earlier this month, researchers in China said they had found two main types of coronavirus could be causing infections.
The preliminary study found that when the virus first crossed into humans, the "ancestral" strain - which they named 'S' - subsequently evolved into another version, called 'L'.
In their study, they found that the older strain is the more aggressive and faster-spreading of the two.
Initially the newer strain, L, was more prevalent - but is now reducing and S has gone onto become more common.
The authors suggest that this could be because the disease it causes is less severe, meaning people can carry it for longer before they are hospitalised - making it the risk of passing it on greater.
They also claim that the more aggressive version associated with the disease outbreak in Wuhan accounted for about 70 per cent of analysed strains.
But experts warn that the study is very early data and more research is needed.
More on coronavirus
Similar to the flu, Covid-19 may be more able to spread and infect more people as it becomes well adapted.
However, the variants that cause people to get really sick may die out.
Dr Gatherer said this process "may take a couple of years."