By Canadian Press

Genetic detectives begin work to trace spread of COVID-19 in Canada

Jul 13, 2020 | 10:43 AM

OTTAWA — Canada’s public health experts have been racing to stop the spread of COVID-19 by trying to figure out how everyone is getting it, and whom they might have given it to.

But even the best efforts over the last four months have left doctors stymied about the source of more than one-third of this country’s known COVID-19 infections.

Now, medical researchers are using supercomputers to turn genetics labs into detective agencies and starting the work to figure out how almost every case in Canada arose.

Andrew McArthur, director of the biomedical discovery and commercialization program at McMaster University, says his group will make a big push over the next month to compare the genetic material from versions of novel coronavirus isolated from blood samples of thousands of Canadians.

This virus is not mutating a lot, which is helpful for vaccine development and treatments, but it’s changing just enough that individual cases can be linked, creating a road map of sorts of how the virus spread through the nation.

Upcoming Events at Oliver's

Grief & Loss and Estate Planning Seminars

Oct 02, 2024

Local History

Oliver's Funeral Home - 109 years of Service

Sep 04, 2024

Funeral Alternatives

When You Don't Want A Funeral

Aug 07, 2024

McArthur says this information will identify where weak spots were in public health measures early on and help quickly stamp out flare ups of new cases by figuring out where they originated.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 12, 2020.

The Canadian Press